The sweet stink of success

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 11:19:00 +0000

Armed with a little rake and pan, Grady Moorer walks in a gridlike pattern across the house's expansive front yard like he's mapping out a crime scene.

"After a while you learn where the dog poops," he says wisely. "They're really creatures of habit. And you can always tell if there's a visitor dog -- the poop is a different color, consistency and shape." Moorer, aka "ScooperDude," has been scooping up dog excrement in Charlotte, N.C., in a professional capacity, since 2003. Prior to that he owned a construction business, and while surfing the Web for some tools came across Pooper-Scooper.com, an international directory of dog-waste removal services. Intrigued by the financial possibilities, Moorer invested in some advertising, slapped a ScooperDude sticker on his Ford pickup, and embarked on a new career.

"At first my wife thought I had lost my mind," says Moorer, 56. "But then the money started rolling in, and she said, 'Hey, this is pretty good.'"

New weapons in the war on toxic mold

Thu, 12 Sep 2002 19:30:00 +0000

Just days after moving into their new $300,000 home in Austin, Texas , Dawn and Scott Richardson and their two young daughters began experiencing health problems. At first it was the occasional headache, nosebleed or bout of dizziness. They also started having trouble concentrating, and often felt muddled and fuzzyheaded. When a water stain appeared on the ceiling, it was discovered that a leaky air-conditioning line had bred a big patch of black mold in the attic, and spewed water down the walls and under the floors. Five weeks later, as their health continued to deteriorate, the Richardson family abandoned their home and nearly all its contents.

"I was bumping into walls and getting lost in my own neighborhood," says Dawn Richardson. "The final straw was when my 16-month-old daughter stopped talking. She regressed to primitive grunting and screaming; she lost her coordination and dexterity. The house was literally killing us."

Both Dawn and her youngest daughter, Erica, were diagnosed with neurological disorders and brain damage, as well as autonomic dysfunction and hypotension. Dawn, who has a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Connecticut and used to design microprocessor chips, feels like a part of her has been forever stolen. "I was pretty damned smart," she says. "And there are areas of my brain now that are permanently damaged. This affects my whole family, especially now that I'm a mother."

Salon.com > Sam Boykin

The sweet stink of success

New weapons in the war on toxic mold