Poop happens. So do urine and vomit. While most pet messes come from young pets or old ones, even pets in the prime of their lives can get sick sometimes, leaving you looking at -- or worse, stepping in -- something you need to clean up.

Universal Press Syndicate The more quickly you get on any stain, the better your chance of a stain- and smell-free cleanup.

If you want to make that mess a memory instead of a smelly stain, don't delay your cleanup.

Addressing a pet mess promptly does more than minimize the chance of staining. A quick and thorough cleanup also reduces the chance of repeat business, since old stains and smells tend to attract new ones, especially from pets who are struggling with the concept of house-training.

With a fresh mess, you can use gentle dish soap and warm water. Start by picking up and disposing of any solid matter. Blot the area with towels, and then wet it with the soapy solution (color-testing in a corner is always recommended, of course!). Work in the soapy solution and then flush with clean water and blot again, repeating a couple of times to make sure the soap is removed along with the mess.

Older but still pretty recent messes can benefit from the use of an enzymatic cleaner designed for pet stains, following label directions. These products break down the organic compounds in the mess, helping it to let go of the fibers of carpet or upholstery.

Don't use ammonia-based cleaners. They smell like urine to the keen noses of our pets -- ammonia being one of the byproducts of decomposing urine. Instead of making the area smell clean, ammonia products may make a mess site even more attractive to pets.

Really old, permanently set pet stains may resist any effort to remove them, but it's always worth a try. Since the carpet or upholstery is already trashed, there's no harm in saturating the stain with enzymatic pet cleaner and letting it sit. Flush well with water, blot, let dry, and repeat at least one more time if the stain is still there.

A professional furniture or upholstery cleaning service may be worth trying, as well. If nothing works, you can always put an attractive accent rug or furniture throw over the stain, unless the smell makes keeping the piece impossible.

Even the messes you can't see or smell can be a problem, because your pet may be able to smell what you cannot and may want to add his own mess on top. Many pet retailers carry black lights, which will show you the locations of old stains so you can treat them.

Unfortunately, not all stains and smells can be successfully treated. Any real estate agent can tell you a horror story of a home with pet stains that had soaked through to the carpet padding or even the sub-flooring below, making stain and smell removal an expensive proposition involving the replacement of carpet, padding and even flooring in some cases.

Just another good reason why there's no reason to wait when you've found a fresh mess.

Dr. Marty Becker, the popular veterinary contributor to ABC-TV's "Good Morning America," has been writing a syndicated newspaper column for more than a decade. Becker is also the host of "The Pet Doctor With Marty Becker," which airs on PBS stations around the country. He has appeared on Animal Planet and is a frequent guest on national network and cable television, and on radio shows.

Gina Spadafori is the award-winning author of top-selling pet-care books, and a consultant to the Veterinary Information Network. Her Web log and column archives can be found at www.spadafori.com.