Orlando condo to track DNA in crackdown on wayward pet feces

[Baitball Blogger]

A downtown condo tower has a mess on its hands: Some residents are not cleaning up after their pooches. So it's turning to doggie DNA testing to root out the culprits and hand hefty fines to their owners.

The Vue plans to launch the testing next month to determine who is leaving behind their dogs' droppings on the seventh-floor pet park.

"There are always pet owners in the high-rises that do not clean up after their pets," said Cristian Michaels, who oversees sales and marketing for the Vue. "The only way to handle this is usually to do DNA testing and then fining owners $100 per offense. Renters with multiple violations can be evicted by the association after multiple offenses."

The Vue is one of the first properties in Central Florida to employ scientific investigations to resolve what has been a long-standing issue for apartment renters, condominium owners and others. The Vue, Park North at Cheney Place and several other complexes in the Orlando area have contracted with PooPrints, a division of BioPet Vet Lab, Knoxville, Tenn.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-dna-pets-20130112,0,6366993.story

[MiddleFingerMom]

1. Ya gotta love HOA's.

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Just as long as they're DNA-testing my dog and not me looking for the guilty culprit.
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It's why I got a dog.
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[Baitball Blogger]

3. God help the person whose dog eats his stash.

[In_The_Wind]

2. I guess their security cameras weren't working.

BRB
I've gotta put some puppy poo in a baggie. [img][/img]

[pipi_k]

4. Someone with access

to a zoo full of animal shit could really mess with that DNA stuff.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. It's a good thing we use our genius for good and not evil around here.

[pipi_k]

10. We really are

a scary bunch sometimes...

[Kaleva]

6. People could mess with that system by pooping in the yards themselves.

The downside of that is the chance of being arrested and having one's mug shot posted on the internet.

[SEMOVoter]

9. I like you. I like your beautiful mind.

[Duer 157099]

7. They fine them $100? I would think the cost of DNA testing is more than that n/t

[SEMOVoter]

8. Also, what about those poochies that eat poop? (Both their own and others)

I'm not throwing shade at any breeds, but Yorkies and some smaller dogs have very short intestines. This allows processing of foods to be "incomplete". It also means the resulting poo is like a snack for some other dogs.

This fact means the chain of evidence is tainted. There is a high probability for cross contamination of DNA sampling.

Let's think about this. Dog A poops. Dog B eats the poop then leaves a poop, where disgraceful owner fails to pick up poop of Dog B. PooPrints tests Dog B Poop and finds Dog A DNA.

The chain of evidence is such that action would not hold water or even float.



Also, what if someone seeded the seventh-floor pet park with poo from the street?

[pipi_k]

11. Good point...

My two girls (German Shepherds) eat their own, and each others', poo.

They would probably eat mine too if I took a shine to crapping in their doggy yard.

[Orrex]

12. I think it would be easy to come up with some sort of paste-extrusion mechanism

Fill it with thick mud and it would be easy to produce great heaps of the stuff for easy deposit on lawns and sidewalks. Heck, a cleverly modified caulking gun would do nicely.