Meet Beth Herriman | Dooloop Inventor: Redefining Dog Waste Etiquette

We had the good fortune of connecting with Beth Herriman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Beth, how does your business help the community?

Great to talk with you, thank you! So, my business started with the invention of “the dooloop” which came about out of necessity for maintaining leash control.

There are 2 paths when thinking about how dooloops help the community. First, it helps by making it easy for people with dogs to take care of their dog’s poop, it’s a lifestyle, shoe tread, visual and environmental upgrade.

Secondly, how it’s created. The dooloops are made in Maine USA, of recycled materials, no single use plastic, paying people fairly, while giving the stores reasonable margins. From the start, these were all considered as well as maintaining affordability.

Like all of us, I’ve seen the environment degrade, and pay discrepancy rise over the years. Things I thought my great grandchildren might experience, are here. It’s terrifying. Throw-away culture, race to the bottom manufacturing, IMHO, we’ve gotten ourselves into a vicious cycle. Cheap is very expensive, both at the individual and societal levels.

I’d like to sell so many dooloops that there’s a need for constant production, but I’m not there yet.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I’m proof that it’s never too late. TBH, if I’d known then what I know now about what it takes to run a business, chances are I wouldn’t have taken the leap; being dumb sometimes works out. My invention is very intuitive, nothing else has been. Building the plane while flying keeps me busy.

The motivation to keep going is my unwavering belief that the dooloop will be the next thing that everyone eventually has on their leash and assumes always existed. It’s that simple and helpful. And truly, why would anyone not use one? Who has ever said, oh please may I hold your dog’s poop?

Additionally, the more I’ve learned about the environmental degradation due to this shit, literally, keeps me going. Dog poop is not natural, we try to feed our pups human grade food, dogs aren’t mythical beings, human food = human quality poop, done by dogs.

We love our dogs, and there are more dogs than ever. The uncollected waste is washing into streams flowing into aquifers causing real damage to the quality of our diminishing water supply. Ditto the landscape, changing the chemistry in soil, changing what plants can grow. Finally, parasites etc can affect wildlife, other dogs/cats, and of course, no one wants to step in shit – it’s just gross.

So I guess this brand, like many, started with a problem. That dog poop becomes the happy place is some strange karmic plot twist.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

Oh gosh, I’d start by driving into the state from the south and avoid 95. Go the secondary highways, in our case Route 1 – closer to the coast. Check out the little antique and local shops along the route and never hesitate to take a turn to visit any of the little towns along the way.

Portland Maine is a restaurant mecca. With roughly 70k year-round residents, a couple years ago it was named the best restaurant city in the US by Bon Appetit!, and it doesn’t disappoint. There is no reason to have bad food when you’re in Maine – at any price point.

In the better weather, the food truck “Bite into Maine” has the best lobster rolls anywhere – try ‘the picnic’. The truck is parked at Ft. Williams in Cape Elizabeth, a historic fort with a lighthouse commissioned by George Washington. It has many oceanfront paths and best, it’s dog friendly. There are any number of stunning restaurants in Portland or South Portland. Judy Gibson, Scales, Twelve, Fore Street – and no one should miss Standard Bakery, my fussy friend from France said their baguettes were better than in those in Paris. Scratch Baking in South Portland – it’s all delicious.

If you want to do more than eat, you can drink!! Kinda kidding, but not really – lots of microbreweries with porches and tasting rooms…

Shopping, skip the mall, really – it’s not a good mall. But downtown Portland is full of independent shops, Portland Trading, Blanche and Mimi, Fish and Bone, Uncommon Paws, The Holy Donut, LeRoux, indie bookstores, art galleries, pottery, clothing, chocolate…it’s fun to walk around the Old Port and further up onto Congress Street.

…Maine’s rocky coast is iconic and the lakes renown. There are many vistas, also, sandy beaches, like Crescent or Scarborough that are close to Portland. Take the ‘mail boat’ out of the Old Port puddle jumping to all the islands in Casco Bay. Going north, hiking, or riding a bike visit Acadia, Booth Bay Harbor and on and on. The people here are very nice, it’s a relaxed, unfussy vibe that greets you almost immediately wherever you go ~

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

I’d like to thank my friends and family for trying my homemade dooloops, to see if they found them helpful, especially my brother Michael. He later stepped out of his comfort zone, working a huge a trade show with me and a couple friends who also brought unique-skills-I-don’t-have to the table.

I’d like to thank Patric Santerre, a local industrial designer, who immediately understood the value and refined the design to be MoMA worthy, plus his help knowing how to get them produced and bringing other talented creatives to the table.

My friend Bettina who made it bitesized, when I was freaking out with the overwhelm. My friends Calie, Krista, Kalli, creative and insightful. My kids for tech help, hub for accounting help. And finally, the Ayottes, good friends who helped enormously with assembly while watching the Patriot’s play when I was first getting started, I was watching The Real Housewives….not proud.

They all continue to cheerlead, which is invaluable.

Website: https://thedooloop.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dooloopdogs

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-herriman-78ab4387

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dooloopdogs

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/thedooloop/

Image Credits
Terran Bayer photographer Jessica Webb for 2 non-lifestyle photos Shawn Patrick for the shot with Bella, Angie and me