Dog diaper could clean up
One summer, while sitting on her front porch in Cranberry Township, Pauline Grodecki once again observed her dog-walking neighbors bend down to pick up messes left by their pets.
That was the impetus for her canine invention.
Grodecki, who lives in a clustered condo setting where pet waste is forbidden, mused over this. There had to be a better way than carrying around a stinky plastic bag or a clunky pooper scooper.
In August 2001, she received a patent for the Canine Diaper. The device is modeled after a disposable diaper. It fits around a dog's back legs and attaches near the tail with Velcro. It has a separate plastic compartment for feces held open by a wire, and the urine goes into the diaper material.
One model she made uses material cut from a large, adult-sized disposable diaper, and another uses light blue hospital material.
There are sizes for small, medium and large dogs.
"I wanted to make it simple and easy. You put it on the dog, then unsnap it and throw it away," said Grodecki.
Grodecki tested the device on her daughter's white female poodle. After four different prototypes, she found the right diaper. She said the diaper did not disrupt the normal routine of the dog, which still crouched when going to the bathroom.
"The dog was 15 years old at the time and a poodle. They can be little devils sometimes, the spoiled little things," said Grodecki, who used this as proof that dogs wouldn't mind wearing the diaper.
She said the Canine Diaper is perfect for people who don't like cleaning up after their dog on a walk, for dogs that are sick and can't control their bowels and for dogs in heat.
The diapers also could be used by the elderly or handicapped who don't get around to let their dog outside, she said.
"It doesn't look too strange — no stranger than a person walking around having to carry a plastic bag," said Grodecki.
She recalled a conversation she had with a veterinarian in Wexford, who herself had a sick dog at home that could not control its bowels. The veterinarian was forced to make a crude improvisation, tying a T-shirt around the dog.
She said the difference in this device and putting a regular diaper on a dog is that with a regular diaper, a messy residue would be left on a dog's fur after taking the diaper off. With her diaper, there is no mess because of the separate compartments, she said.
The expensive patent process was no exception for Grodecki, who declined to say how much she has spent so far. Most of her costs went to acquiring the patent and marketing help, which were provided by Montgomery Patent and Design, whose nearest office is in Washington, Pa.
"My hope and dream is to get this manufactured. I'm trying to find a manufacturer," said Grodecki, who is currently exchanging e-mails with the personal care and diaper conglomerate Kimberly-Clark.
She said with the help of the patent and design firm, she has sent out more than 80 letters to prospective manufacturing companies. Additionally, she has sent letters to "Good Morning, America" and "Oprah."
Grodecki noted one selling point to manufacturers is that the product is disposable, ensuring repeat business.
"I think it's a great invention," she said.
