Local man builds thriving business around scooping poop.

Bob Jury, founder and owner of Coyote Scoop Pet Waste Removal Service, discusses, in great length and vivid detail, the complexities of dog feces. On one job, he lists textures and shades of doo doo while he works: “There’s ashy and white, hard and grey, slushy and black.”

He has a passion for dealing with the stuff many avoid.

“Pet’s (sic) poop, we scoop!” reads his motto. “Serving the area since 2003.”

Jury, 65, tucks a ponytail under his Coyote Scoop baseball cap, wears tennis shoes and shorts, and has a knack for mimicking dogs sniffing their own butts. He works alone except for bigger jobs, visiting commercial and residential properties, scouring kennels and yards for $10 a visit, spraying veterinarian approved disinfectant. He also trains troubled dogs that are overly assertive or anxious.

“Whatever comes my way, I deal with it,” says Jury. “It’s way more than waste.”

That included a time somebody called describing “a ‘little’ bit of stuff to clean up.” Not quite: “The yard was 3 inches thick of dog shit,” he says. “I filled up a whole garbage container.”

But there are some jobs he doesn’t do.

“One time a kid called me at midnight,” Jury laughs. “He had thrown a party and some of his friends pooped in the front yard. He wanted me to clean it up before his parents got back.”

On another house visit, he points out piles that pose greater risk. Dog feces left to fester attracts parasites like roundworms, which infect both dogs and humans. Once disease-carrying organisms form, the droppings become time bombs waiting for contact from the next fly, shoe or paw that can spread bacteria into homes and beyond.

Jury has lived with dogs, and their waste, all his life. “My job after school was to pick up after the dogs,” he says. Years later, living in Monterey, Jury encountered dog poop far too often, observing owners burying pet droppings in sand or simply walking away.

“I would walk them on the beach and see so much,” he says. “I was tired of it.”

He began researching effects of pet waste on the environment. He found that animal feces in bodies of water release toxic nutrients like ammonia; a UC Davis study found 38 percent of sea otters found dead in Santa Cruz were killed by parasitic infections such as Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite found exclusively in pet waste. “I’m not doing it for the money,” he says. “I’m doing it for the coastal community.”

“SEE HOW ASHY THAT LOOKS? THAT’S FOUR DAYS OLD.”

Parking at a client’s property, he describes signs to look for in his trade.

“I see where flies are,” he says, taking out a bucket and shovel from his van. Before entering a weed-filled front yard with a “Beware of Dog” sign, Jury puts on gloves and sprays disinfectant on tools and the bottom of his shoes.

Several dogs bark from the house as Jury hunts amid the little tan leaves and tall grass. With his shovel he points out a discolored chalky chunk of waste.

“See how ashy that looks?” he says, cutting it with the shovel and breaking it into powder. “That’s four days old.”

From sight and smell, he determines the diet of the dog. Most clients feed their dogs dry food, which Jury says is fine when avoiding brands that use corn oil or additives. The sight of plastic in a dog’s droppings is nothing new, but it still worries him.

“I have to be observant,” he adds. “I feel responsible for anything bad happening to that dog if I miss something.”

Picking up in the front yard takes 15 minutes, then Jury is off to his final stop.

In a yard containing a children’s slide, a tall tile table with chairs, and a Harley Davidson, Jury gets to work while two dogs come from the backyard to say hi.

Thor is 2-year-old Rottweiler whose heart beats with desire to play. Loki, a black-and-white bulldog, makes up for his smaller stature with rowdiness. Holding a dog biscuit and tennis ball in either hand, Jury has the Rottweiler under his spell like a snake charmer.

The dog’s owner comes out to catch up. Jury has visited twice a week for two years, since well-mannered Thor was a mischievous puppy.

Jury places two snacks in my shaky gloved hands and tells me to hold the treats over the dog’s heads. Thor gives an impatient growl. Noticing my trembling, Jury says, “Relax, ease up.”

Another growl from Thor and the treats slip from my grasp. The dogs devour their victory treats.

Thor and Loki begin fighting, which gets rough quickly.

“Nyok!” Jury gets between the two with his fist balled up, “Nyok!”

The duo of powerful dogs seize instantly. Jury wrestles Thor into a headlock and takes a slobber-soaked ball out of the dog’s mouth.

“Dogs give me love,” he says. “That’s my reward.”

COYOTE SCOOP PET WASTE REMOVAL, 1090 Elm Ave #B Seaside. 917-0209, www.petwasteremovalmontereyca.com