Patent ID: 8641108

Claim:
An animal waste collection apparatus, comprising: a housing having opposed first and second side walls and opposed end walls extending between said side walls, respectively, said housing defining an open top, an open bottom, and an interior area; a bottom panel pivotally coupled to a lower edge of one of said side walls and movable between an open configuration at which said bottom panel is positioned inside said housing interior area so as not to cover said open bottom and a closed configuration at which said bottom panel covers said open bottom; a collection member having a mounting portion connected to an upper end of said housing and a collection portion extending downwardly from said mounting portion into said housing interior area, said collection portion being resiliently movable between a retracted configuration inside said housing interior area and an extended configuration extending outside said housing interior area through said open bottom, whereas so to be selectively manipulated by a user to collect animal waste; wherein said collection member is configured to receive a hand of a user therein; wherein said bottom panel is operatively coupled to said collection portion such that said bottom panel is moved automatically to said closed configuration when said collection portion is moved from said extended configuration to said retracted configuration.