They now earn an extra £12k a year than they did working in the police force
A Cambridgeshire couple quit their jobs in the police force to set up their own business picking up dog poo. David and Shauna Wiles launched their professional dog poop cleaning business in October after leaving their £41,000 and £44,000-a-year jobs with Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
In April 2025, they had already set up a window cleaning business but noticed an opportunity for a side-hussle scooping poop, which is already big business in America.
The married couple, from Peterborough, believe that they are one of a small number of businesses across the UK providing this service. They say that is is mainly used by the elderly and disabled, and also includes cleaning cat litter trays.
David, 42 and Shauna, 47, say the poop-picking side of their business is set to make an extra £12,000 a year and could eventually become more profitable than their £30,000-£40,000 a year window cleaning business. The couple decided to leave the police force because of the strain of the job. David has already left, and Shauna will officially leave on April 22.
David, who worked as an emergency call handler, said: “I left the force because, for me, I felt like I was letting people down – I’m one of those who want to help people and I was finding I was struggling to do that. Some want to speak to officers that day and I’m thinking you’ll be lucky if one comes out at all because we don’t have the resources to send out.
“I spent 11 years with the ambulance service before that and suffered from burn out and I just thought I’ve got bigger priorities in my life like my 10-year-old daughter who I wasn’t seeing as much. I just lost faith in the job and the window cleaning and poop scooping just gives me a chance to do what I enjoy and that is making people happy.”
Shauna, a previous domestic abuse advisor, said: “I got to the point where the job was affecting my mental health given the nature of the victims and cases I was dealing with. It just became too much.”
The couple set up their window cleaning company, Nene Window Cleaning whilst they were still working part-time with the police, but they both decided that they wanted to throw themselves fully into their new business ventures. They noticed the need for poop scooping services whilst cleaning windows and noticing the mess in the gardens.
They thought that as people pay for services such as car cleaning, delivering food, cleaners and dog walkers, why not poop scooping?
David and Shanua have since been helping people who struggle physically with the demands of the messy garden job. The couple, who have three children and are pet owners themselves, have roughly 20 regular customers on a subscription and have privoded one-off cleans for another 30 clients.
Shauna said: “We first noticed the need while window cleaning and coming across dog poo in gardens. We found ourselves having to step around a lot but sometimes our hose would get dirty. David then did a bit of research and found this was huge business in the USA but only a handful of companies were doing the same here.
“There were only about four or five nationwide but they seemed to be low budget and amateur, which I do say with respect, but what we offer is a more full professional works. We wanted the van with signage, uniforms, all the right equipment, including disinfecting gardens afterwards – we don’t think there’s many offering the same level of service.
“We use a horse bucket, which we empty into bags which are double bagged and put into the clients wheelie bins. We did query with the council if we would need waste disposal but as long as its bagged and binned with the homeowner’s permission that is fine. We are also DBS checked and have business liability insurance – we’ve put everything into making this as professional as possible.
“We have our own dog Rufus, a Bichon Frisé crossed with a Shih-tzu, so we’re used to picking up mess and you soon get used to it. You do come across some quite neglected gardens which prove quite tricky, but you adapt.
“We set up in October but have only been fully up and running since February. Despite this we already have around 20 regular customers paying us a £50 a month subscription. It is proving very popular already and bringing in on average £1,000 a month.
“We run the window cleaning and poop scooping as two separate companies and we aim to grow and expand to the point where we are employing staff. We have disabled and elderly people as customers but the service is available to anyone. These days people have gardeners, their shopping delivered or their houses cleaned .
“It could just be a job you don’t like doing, and to be honest it is one of the worst jobs around the garden to do, so there’s really no shame in it. We’re also introducing a grass-cutting service too to mow your lawn once we’ve picked up the poo. Some people might frown at it – but it’s a job we’re happy to help with.”
David added: “There is a need for our services and we are helping elderly people and those with disabilities. Those people were struggling and needed our help. As a result it is really rewarding. We have seen comments saying if you can’t pick up after your dog then you shouldn’t have a dog.
“But we have found those animals are very much loved. The big thing for us was to start a business to try and improve our lives. We wanted to get out of shift work and spend more time with our family. We have realised we are genuinely helping a lot of people.
“We wear specialised PPE and footwear and use tools and disinfectant. This service didn’t exist before and we are getting great feedback from customers.”

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