Abstract: The invention relates to a handheld device for grappling animal excreta into a plastic bag that is subsequently removed from a roll of plastic bags without tearing the bag and spilling its contents. The device consists of a pair of opposing jaws which are pivotally carried by a pin member and biased by a torsion spring to urge the jaws to a closed position. A roll of plastic bags is carried in telescopic relationship with the pin member which are fed tangentially into the device. The leading edge portion of the plastic bag is advanced through the lower edges of the opposing jaws and then overlapped such that excreta may be surrounded by the leading edge portion and grappled into the plastic bag by closure of the jaws. The sidewalls of the jaws have lateral edges that are serrated and mesh upon closure of the jaws for gripping the succeeding plastic bag to permit the excreta containing bag to be separated from the roll without being torn.