A complex in Riverdale, New Jersey is putting DNA to a good new use... Figuring out which residents aren't cleaning up after their dogs!
All residents of this condo complex will be required to give a mouth swab of their dog by November 1st. From there, when one resident does not pick up after their animal, the feces will be sent to a lab called "PooPrints" in Tennessee.
Who ever has the dog that has the DNA match to the feces, gets fined.
Seems like this apartment is adamant. Who would have thought of a company like "PooPrints" though?
Just one of the many new uses of DNA lately!
(This was my second article this week; so, that's why it is kind of out there!)
Article in FS Magazine
Wow. That is all... Just wow.
ReplyDeleteHaha I figured that would be most people's first word!
DeleteThat was my first reaction too. I'm shocked that people are annoyed enough about other people not cleaning up after their dogs that they would go this far. It must be a very bored scientist to want to test dog feces.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, collecting dog DNA could become a thing, especially for breeders that are obsessed with their dogs or want to breed top dogs.
Hopefully they're at least getting a good paycheck to be that bored!
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised if there were some super rich dog lovers out there willing to pay for dog DNA to find/make the ideal dog.
I guess a few irresponsible pet owners have caused a big enough problem that the management had to resort to more extreme measures. Feces can be a source of disease transmission and an apartment complex has a lot of people crammed into a small living space. Having a bunch of feces laying around just isn't a good idea. If you can use DNA to identify the source, then this could be a way to hold a person responsible (although I have some lingering warriness in the little bit of libertarian in me...also, is this a violation of the dog's rights?)
ReplyDeleteHaha I think it is a violation of the dogs' rights!
DeleteIf this complex cares so much, maybe they should get rid of the whole "pet friendly with deposit" rule and outlaw pets all around...
Wow this is crazy. I don't know if it is necessary to go to this extent to use this DNA process but I guess what ever gets the job done
ReplyDeleteYeah, this complex is on a serious (well, what they think is serious) mission.
DeleteI understand the reasoning behind it, but isn't this costing the apartment complex a lot of money to do all this testing? I wonder if the charge in sending and processing the feces sample is going to be tacked on to resident's fee of being lazy. But hey, it'll definitely encourage some to do better.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why is a dog feces so bad? Aren't fertilizers made out of manure? Then again, the complex probably do want the smell of feces to be what future residents constantly smell when doing a tour or accidentally stepping in it..eww!
I would imagine that they charge it right back to the residents responsible.
DeleteI don't think it would be so bad as soil, but like you said, they're more worried about presentation.