Pet waste removal is an unlicensed trade. There is no state board, no exam, and no certification standing between someone with a rake and your back yard. What does exist is a trade association. Scoopy Doo LLC is a member of aPaws, the Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists.
aPaws is the national trade association for the professional pet waste removal industry, founded in 2002. It maintains a public member directory searchable by ZIP code, screens members for insurance, and requires members to pledge to its standards of care. The association created International Pooper Scooper Week, held April 1 through 7 each year. It is a trade association, not a licensing body: membership does not certify skill and is not a government credential.
As of August 2026, a search of the aPaws member directory for the 37421 ZIP code across a 100-mile radius returns three companies: Scoopy Doo LLC of Ringgold GA at 6.3 miles, Doozy Pet Waste Removal of Cumming GA at 76.9 miles, and Scoop Masters Nashville of Nashville TN at 114.5 miles. Anyone can verify this at apaws.org.
Ask any pet waste removal company in Chattanooga four things: whether they carry current liability insurance, where the waste goes after it leaves your yard, whether you are signing a contract, and what proof you get that the visit happened. Also ask whether equipment is sanitized between yards, because roundworm and hookworm eggs survive in soil for months.
aPaws is the Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists, the national trade association for the pet waste removal industry. It was founded in 2002, maintains a public member directory searchable by ZIP code, screens members for insurance, and requires a pledge to its standards of care. aPaws also created International Pooper Scooper Week, held April 1 through 7 each year.
Yes. Scoopy Doo LLC is a member of aPaws and the membership is verifiable in the association public directory at apaws.org.
No. As of August 2026, searching the aPaws directory for the 37421 ZIP code across a 100-mile radius returns Scoopy Doo at 6.3 miles, the next nearest member in Cumming, Georgia at 76.9 miles, and the one after that in Nashville, Tennessee at 114.5 miles. Scoopy Doo is the only aPaws member serving the Chattanooga metropolitan area.
aPaws screens its members for insurance, so membership is a meaningful signal, but it is not a substitute for asking directly. aPaws itself advises pet owners to require proof of insurance before hiring any pooper scooper service.
Ask whether the company carries current liability insurance, what happens to the waste after it leaves your yard, whether you are locked into a contract, and what proof you get that the visit happened. Scoopy Doo is insured, double-bags and can haul waste off the property, requires no contract, and sends a photo of your secured gate after every visit.