Pricy condo considering using doggie DNA to identify uncollected dog poop

 Just because someone can afford expensive housing doesn’t mean they have any class. Or sense. Maybe they just expect someone else to clean up their messes.

At any rate according to the Baltimore Sun the condo board at the luxury Scarlett Place condominium in Baltimore is considering having DNA samples taken of all the dogs in order to identify any dog poop left behind.

According to residents, dog excrement has been left on carpeted hallways, lobby and recreation areas, and elevators for other residents and visitors to step in or clean up.

Under the proposal, every dog at Scarlett Place and guest dogs would be swabbed for a DNA sample — owners would then have to pay $50 each to cover the test and supplies. Dog owners would also pay an extra $10 per month per dog to cover the cost of having the building's staff scoop poop and send it to a lab.

Feces, like saliva, contains tell-tale DNA. If the lab identifies your dog as the pooper, that's a $500 fine.

 Most of the residents seem to get that this may be a necessary procedure. Except for this moron:

"This is something you'd see in some kind of tyrannical nation where you had no rights," says Peter Yaffe, who owns two pugs and a poodle and has lived in the building for 13 years. "Our dogs are like our children. If you had a child, would you want someone coming in swabbing your child's mouth for DNA?"

Gee, Mr. Yaffe, I hope you don’t have children. Or at least I hope you will diaper or toilet train them so they don’t cause the problem at hand. And you might read the US Constitution more carefully to see exactly what rights you do have.

My guess is that collecting dog DNA under the threat of a fine will be enough to convince even the most irresponsible dog owner to scoop that poop.  

Comments

[pam]

My first thought was, gee, I were a condo resident, I'd pay an additional $10 per month per dog just to have the landscapers take care of all that poop. But then the whole story emerged. Dog poop in elevators and in the lobby? Yeah, now I can see why the drastic measures may be called for.

[Mary]

Wouldn't it be cheaper all around to just put security cameras in the halls, elevators and lobby so they can catch the offending owners on tape?

[Jan]

Actually that was one of the suggestions they considered. But that was a much more expensive option and more invasive of the privacy of the residents since the cameras would be in indoor areas frequented only by residents and their guests.

[gus, louie and callie]

That is great.. Stupid humans...

Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus, Louie and Callie

[rosemary]

Gee whiz.....enforcing responsibility; what a novel idea.

[jackie]

holy shit!

[Dennis the Vizsla]

I'm going to go with "they expect someone else to clean up after them" ...

[Karen Friesecke]

apparently if your rich it disables your ability to clean up after your dogs. Poo in the hallways and elevators? *nasty*!

[Lynn Sinclair]

When I first read your post title, I thought owners weren't picking up the poop from the lawns, etc. But inside the building? How can people be so inexcusably rude?

[condominium philippines]

Enforcing responsibility.

Deirdre G

[cube]

The people whose pets are pooping inside the building and elevators need to take out their pets more often. It looks as though the poor animals are holding it in way too long.

[condo Philippines]

That was a great idea, it is better to have a policy like that. for them to be responsible in the cleanliness of the place and surroundings. We can't deny that there are some irresponsible pet owner everywhere.

Mitch