SEATTLE — In the dirty dog-poop-scoop wars, one Seattle-area company says a cross-state rival is infringing on its ability to perform the company’s rightful duties.
Pooper Trooper, a Lynnwood-based pet waste removal company, is suing the Spokane business Scoop Troop, accusing it of copyright infringement and unfair competition, among other allegations related to its similar name and services. Pooper Trooper filed the lawsuit this week in U.S. District Court for Western Washington.
The lawsuit between the two businesses, offering services for both residents and commercial customers, provides a glimpse into the growing — and often lucrative — dog-poop-removal industry in the Seattle area, where people love their dogs but not necessarily their deposits.
For a fee, companies like Pooper Trooper and Scoop Troop will send workers to a yard, or other spaces, or to walk a route to ensure no poop is missed. Others install and maintain pet waste stations at dog parks or for homeowner associations. There are at least two dozen such companies in Washington, according to the Secretary of State’s office, with names like Scoopology Pet Removal, Poopless in Seattle and Poop Scoopin’ Boogie.
But Pooper Trooper says in its lawsuit that Scoop Troop is too similar in its name and services, and infringes on Pooper Trooper’s trademark.
“Scoop Troop has and will continue to unjustly benefit — at Pooper Trooper’s expense — from profits derived from the services sold in association with the infringing Scoop Troop mark,” Pooper Trooper wrote in the lawsuit.
In April, Pooper Trooper sent Scoop Troop a cease and desist letter, and a month later, Scoop Troop counsel rejected Pooper Trooper’s claims and denied any infringement, according to court documents.
Lawyers for Pooper Trooper declined to comment beyond the lawsuit. Phone calls to Scoop Troop’s Spokane and Seattle offices weren’t returned, nor were messages sent to the company and to the company’s two owners.
Pooper Trooper formally began in 2003 with founder Bill Walters and a “little used green Ford Ranger, a rake and a bucket,” according to the company’s website. Its services spread to King and Snohomish counties, and the company now calls itself “the most established pooper scooper service in the Puget Sound area.”
Scoop Troop was founded in 2020 by William Milliken and Levi Swartz, who headquartered the company in the Spokane Valley and focused services in Spokane and in northern Idaho. It has since expanded to the Seattle area. The business acquired Dooky’s Pet Waste Removal this month.
