Condo Spends $2,500 on Dog DNA Tests to Trace Dog Poop to Guilty Owners

 
Image via Capital Gazette/Facebook
 
Board members at the Maryland condominium complex Park Place are using dog DNA tests to police dog poop that’s being left around the neighborhood.
 
The issue began when residents complained about the problem of unscooped poop. To solve the issue, the board tried sending emails, scheduling meetings, implementing fines and even installing a security camera at their community dog walking area, “Bark Place.”
 
Eric Anderson, treasurer on the board of directors for Park Place, tells Capital Gazette that the cameras weren’t entirely effective because they couldn’t provide clear evidence of “whose dog left what.”
 
General manager for The Residence at Park Place Condominium, Jeanne Fisher, tells the outlet that they came across dog DNA tests as an option and decided to try it out.
 
“If there’s an incident where someone hasn’t cleaned up after their pet, then we would take a sample of that so it can be matched,” she tells the outlet. “If they can be matched, then there would be an automatic fine for not following the policy of cleaning up.”
 
The fine for not picking up your dog’s poop in Annapolis is $100. At Park Place, a fee of about $90 will also be added to cover lab testing costs.
 
Park Place isn’t the only community association using dog DNA tests to police dog poop. As dog DNA testing has become more widely available, more associations are turning to this type of testing as a solution.
 
“It’s becoming very well known in the community association industry as a way to take care of what can be a difficult problem,” Fisher tells Capital Gazette. “We decided to embark on it. No pun intended.”
 
 
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