toledoblade.com --

NORTON SHORES, Mich. - Blame it on the dog.

The dog did it … and did it … and did it some more.

As much as Jan Rohrs loves Bella, her 2-year-old mix of Cavalier King Charles spaniel and Bichon Frise, she hated being left holding the bag whenever her dog did its duty out in public.

"Really gross," Ms. Rohrs said.

Dog owners everywhere know of what she speaks. "I mean, really, what are you supposed to do with it?" Ms. Rohrs said.

If you're Ms. Rohrs, who has an inventive mind and "a whole scrapbook of dogs over the years," you head straight to the drawing board to build a better dog-doo bag.

"I just kept thinking: How could this be changed? There has to be a way," she said.

A former national leader in Longaberger basket sales, Ms. Rohrs came up with a bag she says is a "stylish answer … a hands-free way to temporarily store your dog's waste bag" while you're out.

Jan Rohrs’ invention, the PooDunki, is a hands-free bag that temporarily stores a dog’s waste bag. It is made of nylon, with separate pouches for house keys and a cell phone, and has a pouch of aerated material in which to keep dog waste bags.
( MUSKEGON (MICH.) CHRONICLE )

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"I knew I had to think of a name that clicks with people," she said. "It had to have a special ring to it."

She calls it PooDunki.

It is made of sturdy nylon, with separate pouches for house keys, cell phones, and extra bags plus a pouch of aerated material in which to keep the bags of dog waste. It's washable and can either be slung over the dog walker's shoulder or fastened around the waist.

LaRaine Kiel, owner of Bow Wow's Bath House in Roosevelt Park, said she is a big believer in the PooDunki, pronouncing it a "fabulous product." She has two dogs - a collie and a Lab mix - she takes on nightly walks.

"Can you imagine? Two big dogs? Here you are, carrying these bags because you want to be a responsible pet owner. It's disgusting," Ms. Kiel said.

PooDunki is "such a needed product," Ms. Kiel said.

The mother of five and grandmother of 11 - "number 12's on the way," she said - Ms. Rohrs always has been an inventor of sorts. Her father, the late Robert Miller, started R.A. Miller Industries Inc. in Grand Haven.

For the dog bags, she first experimented with fancy fabric, but it was impractical and even unsanitary. Today's bags are made at a factory in Holland, Mich., and are silkscreened by a company in Spring Lake, Mich. With help from her husband, John, and he grandchildren, Ms. Rohrs packages the PooDunki at her home in Norton Shores.

"I could get it made cheaper overseas," Ms. Rohrs said, "but I have to stay in the U.S. We have to help each other."

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