Tired of picking up poop, this Bradenton landlord turns to science to go after dog owners

A Bradenton apartment complex is about to start cracking down on careless dog owners with a little help from science.

The Preserve at Riverwalk, 360 11th St. E., Bradenton, sent an email to residents on Thursday afternoon regarding a new policy on pooch poo.

“Residents, we have completely cleaned the entire property of pet waste,” the email said. “It is your responsibility as the pet owner to clean up after your pet.”

Management, though, is apparently tired of waiting for personal responsibility to kick in.

The warning continued:

“Due to the large amounts of pet waste around the property — starting Monday, Feb. 3 we will start obtaining dog DNA at the cost of the tenant.”

While it may sound far fetched, the practice of scientifically analyzing a dog’s waste to hold its human accountable is becoming fairly common.

Leading the pack is PooPrints, a company based in Knoxville, Tenn., that provides dog poop DNA analysis in all 50 states.

First, a cheek swab is used to collect a doggie DNA sample that is then entered into the company’s “DNA World Pet Registry.”

When a dog and its owner dump and dash, they leave behind more than enough evidence to trace the offense. It takes only a nickel-sized sample of poo for the analysis team at BioPet Laboratories to get to the bottom of who done it, PooPrints says.

A genetic profile is generated from the sample and then matched to the responsible pup in the database.

At an apartment complex, all of the canine residents have to be registered for the system to be effective.

The team at PooPrints helps property owners manage the load with training for apartment staff and built-in record keeping.

PooPrints isn’t the only one cashing in on crud.

Mr. Dog Poop in Tampa is a smaller, local company that offers the service.

The identification process takes more than an hour per pet, according to the company’s website, and is similar to that used by the FBI to identify crime suspects. And while PooPrints uses an extremely accurate level of 16 genetic markers to identify dogs, Mr. Dog Poop’s method claims to use a whopping 23.

At The Preserve, the new measure is a last resort, according to assistant property director Dillon Schuman.

“It’s been an ongoing issue with residents,” Schuman said. “We’ve exhausted a lot of efforts to rectify this situation of people not picking up pet waste.”

The efforts included installing dog stations with complimentary dog waste bags and hiring extra help to take care of the grounds, according to Schuman.

But the problem just kept piling up.

Schuman said that Thursday’s notice to residents was a preliminary warning, and a more detailed update will be provided before a new policy is enforced. The Preserve did not identify which company it will use for the service.

Could your apartment complex be next? Maybe.

Management at The Preserve conferred with other complexes that are already using the scientific method before making the decision.

If the price tag on the DNA analysis is any indication, apartment tenants could be facing some hefty fines.

Mr. Dog Poop charges about $35 to register a dog in its database and $50 for a a successful poop match, and PooPrints can be more expensive.

The residents at The Preserve will only be held responsible for the cost of the DNA test, according to Schuman.

“It’s not going to be inflated,” he said.

Still, that’s money better spent on dog treats. Fair warning, Fido and friends.

This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 7:25 AM.