In 1994, Pat Clark didn’t just launch what would become a hugely successful business; she named an entire industry: doggie daycare. Her once-trademarked moniker is now as generic as Band-Aid, Zipper and Kleenex. And although she lost her trademark and has since adopted the name Gulliver’s Doggie Daycare, in order to differentiate her operation from similar ones, Clark’s remains Vermont’s favorite home-away-from-home for pups when their owners are at work or on vacation.

SEVEN DAYS: So, how much dog poop does your business generate?
PAT CLARK: The most a dumpster has weighed is 1600 pounds in one week ... But that happened in the winter, when we have to scoop around [the piles], so we end up paying for all that snow. But it’s a lot. I figure in my life I’ve carried a ton of poop.

— Ken Picard