A dispute between a Bend, Oregon dog owner and a dog waste removal service got more than a little messy this week, when The Bomb Squad went from collecting - to depositing.
Melinda Hofmann, owner of The Bomb Squad dog waste pick-up service, tried to collect a $150 payment from Deborah Dillow on Monday night.
When Dillow didn't answer the door, Hofmann went to her truck to write another notice - but she quickly changed her mind.
"I started to go back and write another note, but I just decided to give her poop back," Hofmann said Wednesday.
So then, from the back end of her truck, Hofmann started slinging feces - 30 gallons of it, according to police - onto Dillow's front yard.
Hofmann admitted she wasn't exactly thinking rationally at the time, but that didn't stop her.
"Actually, once I started doing it, I kind of lost all rational thought together and I just got into this mode of emptying bags," she said. "And as I was flinging the poo all over her yard - it felt really good, and I just kept doing it."
Hofmann has been making a living picking up other people's dog poop for about 10 years.
She said she has a loyal stable of clients, most of whom are good about paying their bills on time.
Once in a while, though, she runs into folks who are late with payments, or don't pay at all - but rarely, she said.
Monday night, Hofmann didn't stop tossing the poo until police arrived at the gross scene.
"Very messy," police Sgt. Dan Ritchie said. "I would imagine it probably took the homeowners' quite some time to clean that mess up."
Actually, it took hours - with the help of neighbors.
Deb Dillow politely declined to be interviewed on camera Wednesday. But through tears, she said she was "extremely embarrassed" by the incident, and had vowed repeatedly to pay Hofmann.
Dillow said she is battling cancer right now, and recently had to spend $700 on medication.
Ritchie said he understands the frustration business owners have with delinquent clients.
"There is an appropriate way to deal with it, and this certainly is not it," he added.
Hofmann was taken away in handcuffs and charged with criminal trespassing, criminal mischief and offensive littering.
As for Hofmann - she said she was just down to her last straw.
"To take the right steps would be to hire a collection person or to take her to small claims court," she said. "But do I have regrets for dumping poop back in her yard cause she's a slacker client? Nope."
No comments:
Post a Comment