Dog Days

The newest employees at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) aren’t on salary, don’t need a desk, and work incessantly and happily—all you have to do is throw them a bone from time to time. Literally. In mid-November, HPD Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Council Member Gale A. Brewer, and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Deputy Commissioner Daniel Kass announced the hire of two male beagles, Mickey and Nemo, as bed bug sniffing dogs to assist the department in inspection and mitigation efforts. The dogs were acquired, and many of the associated costs for the first year (i.e. kenneling, equipment, training) were offset using funding provided by the City Council. Because when you’ve got an itch, you should scratch it. 

Here’s the Scoop

On-site interactions with dogs aren’t always entirely pleasant. While pet-friendly policies tend to bring resident prospects in the doors, it’s the call of nature outdoors that can often create tension between apartment residents and pets who live on site. Now assisting multifamily property managers and maintenance pros in the ongoing cleanup efforts are a host of companies including DoodyCalls, Call of Doodie, Dr. Scoopy Poo, Dog Entremanure, Yucko’s, and Grand Poobah, all of which are targeting multifamily properties in their efforts to help keep the grass always greener on your side of the fence. Think doggy deposits are no big deal? Consider that canine waste production averages out to 274 pounds per year per dog. All in, that’s 10 million tons dropped in the grass every year. 

It Keeps Going… and Going… and Going…

If you’ve got to search for cringe-inducing pet deposits at night, or search for anything else, or perform pretty much any maintenance duty in the dark without fear of losing your lighting, consider picking up a case of Magnalight RL-FX5Rs for your maintenance staff. Why the RL-FX5R? No, not because it’s a recharchable handheld LED with 135 lumens and five different operating modes. It’s because the RL-FX5R is, well, explosion-proof. Obviously, it’s not something that you’d ever use in your marketing materials, but if your ops guys ever need to work in an environment where flammable gases, vapors, and chemicals are present, this has got to be your torch of choice.

Editor’s note: Send your quick and quirky news to [email protected].