Young entrepreneur turns dog waste into business opportunity

Nineteen-year-old Zach Perl’s company, Canine Clean, is gaining clients across Île Bizard.

Nineteen-year-old Zach Perl’s business, Canine Clean, is picking up — literally.

The young man from Île Bizard jokes, “I try to be number one in the number two business.”

He proudly calls himself the “Chief Scoopologist” of the company he started in January after noticing a need for the service.

“A lot of people in the area have dogs, many of which are elderly or unable to pick up after them due to health conditions or heavy snowfall,” Perl said. “I figured it would be a great help to the community.”

Three months in, Perl already has 50 clients. His team is small and includes his brother, Ethan, who has high praise for the entrepreneur.

“He’s the kind of person who, if there’s something he wants to accomplish, he gets it done. He’s very helpful not just to the people around him, but to others as well,” Ethan said.

Taking the job seriously, Perl explained there is a proper technique to it: “There’s definitely a commercial way of doing it so you don’t strain your wrists. Overuse can definitely affect that.”

He manages the business while studying Justice and Society at John Abbott College, and he’s happy to juggle both.

“The most important thing is balance. If you’re not balanced and able to enjoy life while doing what you do, there’s no point,” he said.

This is Perl’s second business venture. His first, he said, “was a clothing brand, graphic tees for athletes in the NBA and NFL. A lot of them actually wore it, which was pretty cool.”

According to Perl, Canine Clean has room to grow. “There are a lot of commercial businesses looking for something similar — to remove waste, whether from dogs or just plastic, from their properties. There’s definitely demand for that,” he told CTV News.