BELMONT - The town of Belmont welcomed a new business on May 11, with the opening of M.A.A.D. Dawg Cycles.

Owners David McCartney and Lewis Houser always dreamed of opening their own ATV and motorcycle repair shop, and the recent economic downturn gave them the push they needed to turn the dream into a reality.

The Pleasants County shop has been open for almost three months, and already it's been a great success, McCartney said.

McCartney and his wife, Lisa, along with business partner and friend Houser, have known each other since high school.

"Lewis is family to us. He's like a brother," said McCartney.

Their children shared a love of motocross. With McCartney and Houser having lost their jobs in May, it seemed like the right time to go into business together, they said.

But their road to success was not without obstacles.

After losing his job with Erotech in 2002, McCartney joined the military and moved his wife and their sons Austin, 13, and Alex, 11, to Killeen, Texas. Before long he was sent to Iraq.

During his service there, McCartney was injured in a mortar explosion. He underwent spinal surgery for a ruptured disk in his back. The McCartneys returned to West Virginia three months later.

"We liked living in Texas, but we were raised in West Virginia," he said. "Basically, it's home here. And we wanted our boys to grow up in a small town and enjoy the country living."

McCartney accepted a job with Cytec in Belmont as a chemical operator, but a year and a half later, he suffered another blow professionally, when he lost his job again.

It was then that Houser mentioned his idea of becoming business partners, he said.

"Lewis had this great idea. All that needed to happen was those two guys getting together," Lisa McCartney said.

Houser, a pipefitter who also lost his job in May, said it was hard to keep a job because of the recession .

"Times were tough, but I think that's what pushed us to take the plunge," Houser said. "When David and I put our minds to something, we jump in with both feet."

The inspiration for the name "M.A.A.D. Dawg" came from the names of McCartney's and Houser's children. Austin and Alex McCartney along with Mikey, 14, and Dalton Houser, 9, are the sons of the owners. The first letters of their names combine to form the name M.A.A.D.

"Our kids are like brothers. They were a big help when we first started fixing this place up," said David McCartney. "I still remember the night Lewis practically dragged me out of bed and took me to this building. He told me it would be the perfect place for the shop."

The modest white building and outdoor garage on Riverside Drive overlooking the Ohio River became a fully functional repair shop in three weeks.

Houser said M.A.A.D. Dawg Cycles stands out because of excellent customer service, speedy delivery of parts and low prices.

"We're not here to get rich; we're here to provide a service to hardworking people," Houser said. "We will go above and beyond to help people out. We close at 6 p.m., but we will stay open later if customers need us to."

Houser said owning his own shop has been better than he ever dreamed. "I never imagined we would have so much business in our first two months. And the best thing about it is that we can pass this on to our kids someday."