Brother of ‘Monk’ actor invents the Shapoopie

Dan Shalhoub doesn’t really like dogs. They smell. They shed. They poop. So when his wife brought home a West Highland Terrier, named Pippin, a few years ago, he wasn’t happy about it.

To make matters worse, he was told it’s his job to walk the dog. So, reluctantly, he took the little bugger for a walk and Pippin relieved himself.

“I don’t like cleaning up after dogs,” Shalhoub said, “And that’s when it hit me.  I wondered if there was a better way to do this.”

The Milwaukee resident created the Shapoopie, a telescoping handle with a basket that captures waste as it exits from the dog.  The basket’s disposable liner is then snapped shut, and thrown away.

“I won’t walk the dog without it,” he recently told me.

If  Shalhoub’s name sounds familiar, it should. Dan’s brother is Tony Shalhoub, the Emmy winning actor on USA Network’s hit comedy series “Monk.” Tony’s character, Adrian Monk, is a germ fearing, obsessive- compulsive detective who won’t even shake hands unless he can sanitize afterward. So imagine if Monk had a dog … and had to scoop poop. Well, it might just happen. Dan says there’s talk about an episode being written around his real-life invention.

Tony is the unofficial spokesman, demonstrating the product during an appearance on the Bonnie Hunt Show.  And Oprah and President Obama each have a Shapoopie in their possession, he says.

So far, Dan has sold about 300 units through his website and in a few stores. It’s not enough yet to give up his real job – a blind cleaning business — but he’s hopeful as more people learn about the  “goofy device,” they’ll want to buy one.