Over the past few years, millions of consumers have purchased organic products -- or at least contemplated purchasing them -- in order to reduce exposure to chemicals, support a system of sustainable agricultural management and prevent damage to water resources.

The produce and household cleaning aisles of many stores are filled with products designed to attract discretionary dollars and the environmentally conscious shopper.

But, has anyone thought about organic pet care products?

Dave Rusch has. Quite a bit, actually.

Rusch, who lives in Whitefish Bay, is marketing a product called FurBulous Dog, and he has a simple goal.

"I'm trying to become the next dog shampoo magnate," he said.

How does one become a dog shampoo magnate?

"I was asked to leave corporate America in mid-January," he said, chuckling. "I had a 15-month run in the banking industry and that didn't work out. I figured, I'm a lifetime sales guy. I'll land on my feet. But, I underestimated just how brutal it was out there."

While that part of Rusch's story may sound familiar, it was at this point that it took an interesting turn.

"I started talking to my sister, who lives in Palm Springs," he said. "She was selling dog jewelry. Really. She was selling gemstones and necklaces to nice old people who had a lot of disposable income and wanted things for their pets. She was making a go of it, too, until the economy went bad."

In addition to making the pet jewelry, Rusch's sister had been dabbling in pet supplies.

"Have you ever heard of Billy Mays?" Rusch asked.

Of course. Who hasn't heard of the famous infomercial huckster?

"One of his partners, an inventor, came up with an organic dog shampoo formula. It's the first to be endorsed as purely organic. The guy approached my sister and said, 'Do you want to run with this? I'll sell you the formula.' She was interested, but it was a little out of her price range, so she said, 'Keep us in mind.'

"Well, a guy in Phoenix bought the formula and was looking for help distributing it. My sister and her partner agreed to do it and decided to hire a direct sales force because the big pet stores only deal with big distributors that sell them. She knew I was looking for something and said, 'Why don't you try selling it in Milwaukee and Wisconsin?' So, I formed an LLC and now I'm selling dog shampoo."

FurBulous Dog is a spray-on, foaming shampoo made from organic coconut, olive and jojoba oils, organic aloe vera and other natural and organic essential oils. The only preservative is natural rosemary extract.

The producers point out that dogs should be bathed every week to remove accumulated toxins that can make them susceptible to disease. However, excessive bathing with detergent and chemical-based cleaning products can strip away natural oils and dry out a dog's skin and coat.

That's not a problem with FurBulous Dog because it doesn't have synthetic fragrances, colors or preservatives.

"It's a good product," said Rusch, who hopes to have a Web site running by the end of the week. "It's probably not for everybody. The big pet supply stores aren't going to carry it. They deal with big distributors that sell them everything from food to shampoo to collars. The price point is higher -- about $20 for 18 ounces -- but so many consumers are clamoring for anything organic.

"I've been talking to pet boutiques, vets, pet spa owners and some groomers and I've gotten a good response."

The Bark 'n Scratch Outpost, 5835 W. Bluemound Rd., which Rusch calls "the place to go for organic pet supplies" is a customer and so is EmBARK Pet Salon, 1205 E. Oklahoma Ave.

"It's a good product," Rusch said. "It's good for your dog and it's not going to hurt the environment when you rinse the dog off."One of Rusch's first customers was Marilyn Mee, a radio personality at WKLH (96.5 FM) and a noted animal lover.

"This shampoo is really good," Mee said. "I have a basset hound, and his face is always getting dirty and this shampoo was really good at getting him clean.

"Like a lot of organic products, it takes some getting used to because it doesn't lather up like regular shampoos. It's the chemicals that make shampoo lather up, and there aren't any of those. So, you have to pay a little more attention when you're washing the dog, because you might forget what area you washed because you won't see the suds. But, it's really good.

"When I talked to (Rusch), he said that he tried it out on his kids before he used it on his dog. That was good enough for me. I thought that was really cool."