A bed bug hunter is nothing to sniff at

Man bets he'll win business by a nose - his dog's

By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 23, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Dennis Schroeder / The Rocky

Macaroni, a Labrador retriever mix, noses a cup of bed bugs in practice with Walter Penny, owner of Colorado Bed Bug K9. Penny paid $8,000 for his partner in what he believes is his pest bet - uh, best bet - as a pest control entrepreneur.

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Walter Penny had a good job with steady income working for a pest control company, but he'd always had this nagging desire to start his own business.

So, he did. The problem was, he started it as the economy started lurching through one of its worst cycles in memory.

"As usual, my timing was impeccable," he said with a laugh.

But he's banking on two things. One, he believes he's a pioneer in Colorado with this business and, two, there is no shortage of the element at the center of his business model - bed bugs.

Standing in his Denver townhome, he holds a small vial with what looks like giant pieces of redwood sawdust. They are dead bed bugs. And eagerly trying to sniff them is his long-nosed, tail-wagging business partner, Macaroni.

Macaroni, a Labrador retriever mix "with something else," has been trained to sniff out bed bugs by one of the kings of canine smelling experts - Bill Whitstine, the founder of the Florida Canine Academy in Safety Harbor, Fla.

Whitstine, who was featured in a New York Times story about the proliferation of bed-bug detecting dogs on the East Coast, is known to train dogs in a variety of olfactory specialities and pulls the animals from rescue shelters.

Penny said he got Macaroni about a week ago for about $8,000 - which included the training.

"He might be the most expensive rescue dog in the state," Penny said.

Starting the business, however, was simple - although a leap of faith as well. He got a license to operate a business in Colorado, incorporated it and called the company Colorado Bed Bug K9. Now, he's trying to secure contracts with hotels, assisted living houses, apartment complexes, furniture rental businesses and any other business that can be infested with bed bugs.

Reports of bed bug problems in big cities such as New York are well-documented, and there have been some high-profile cases such as one last year at Denver's Halcyon House, an affordable-housing residence for disabled and elderly people.

Aaron Doussett, a zoonosis field specialist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said that because bed bugs don't transmit disease, officials don't track them. It is unclear how big a problem there really is in Colorado.

However, Doussett said the department gets enough inquiries that officials created a Web page that provides photos and information about bed bugs.

"Bed bugs, like lice or scabies - they take a blood meal and they deliver bites and so that's a concern," he said. "There are some reports that under incredibly controlled lab conditions, they can pass along pathogens, but it's not anything we've observed in a practical manner."

Penny said he observed enough bed bug infestations in his time working for the pest control company that he believes the demand is out there. But there is the risk that all of the industries his business would cater to could be scaling back as the economy tightens.

And if the business doesn't work, Penny figures there's an upside.

"I've always wanted a dog," he said. "My wife is allergic to them, but she agreed to it when I started the business. Letting me do this - well, she's a saint."

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