A pet waste collection device has a pair of opposing jaws movable between a closed jaw state and an open jaw state, and a liner bag may be situated about the jaws so that closure of the jaws about pet waste encases the waste within a bag. The jaws do not simply pivot into a closed state, and rather they travel toward each other in a path substantially parallel to the surface upon which the waste rests to close about the waste, and they then retract. Opposing shells which open and close about the jaws may strip the bag from the jaws when the jaws are closed about the waste.