He’s a real entre-paw-neur!
A young Rhode Island boy with a passion for animals has parlayed his love of all things four-legged into a business that’s helped him earn enough money to adopt a kitten of his very own.
Luca Aprin, 6, of Warwick, brought home Pebble the shelter cat using proceeds from his dog poop waste collection venture, which he dubbed “Poopa Scoopa Luca.”
It may not be the world’s most glamorous job, but Luca definitely understands the value of the service he provides.
“People hate picking up dog poop,” the boy told WJAR. “I don’t mind that. I don’t mind it at all.”
For the reasonable price of $15 — “or $20 for multiple dogs,” he notes — Luca purges local yards of offending doggie coils until they sparkle like new.
“It’s fun. I love cleaning. It’s like one of my favorite things,” the first-grader told the outlet.
Luca got his start volunteering at a local animal shelter where his mother, Robyn Bouchard, works. Together, the mom-and-son team has fostered or found homes for 98 rescue animals and counting.
“He is the first person to walk into the building, he’ll immediately start folding laundry. He’ll sweep and mop the floors, you know he’ll tell everybody, ‘I love my job, I love coming to work every day,’” Bouchard said.
While working at the shelter, Luca met and fell in love with Pebble, but with his unpaid volunteer gig, he couldn’t afford the adoption fees or cover the expenses of owning a pet.
“He asked me, ‘What can I do to raise money and how can I raise money to adopt this kitten?’ Because he just felt like he couldn’t live without her,” Bouchard said.
The enterprising young man wasted no time in devising a plan to earn the requisite cash, and just like that “Poopa Scoopa Luca” was born.
After a few weeks of hard work, Luca had enough cash to bring his new best friend home with him.
Bouchard told the outlet Luca already is on the hunt for more ways to earn money so he can help save even more animals.
“I have the coolest kid in the entire world honestly. To be so aware of the rescue crisis in the state and overall in the country I think that’s pretty unique,” she said.
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