Gestapo Poop Patrol? Some HOAs Use DNA Evidence to Track Culprits in Dog Turd Abandonment

San Antonio HOA Lawyer Trey Wilson wrote:

Now we've seen it all... Some HOAs are actually using DNA evidence to catch those horrible wretches who inflict one of society's greatest ills upon us all -- dog poop!

A recent trend has community associations nationwide requiring Owners in restricted communities to register their canines' feces so that it can be entered into the PooPrints "crime database" hosted by BioPet Vet Lab in Knoxville, Tennessee. Those "prints" can later be used to match offensive droppings that a dog's owner leaves behind in a restricted community.

According to its website: PooPrints

is the responsible pet waste solution for managed communities and for the environment. Most pet owners are “super scoopers,” but there will always be a few poopers out there. PooPrints works by storing pet DNA profiles for all of the dogs in the community. If waste is found on the ground, the profile can be matched and the management has solved the “who did it” problem.

To get started, a community manager will order a "PooPrints DNA Collection Kit" for each dog on the property. The cost for said kit is ostensibly passed-on to dog owners whose pets are being "profiled." The PooPrints site further claims that "[a]fter the unique database has been created with all dogs on the property, it provides an incentive for all the pet owners to scoop after their dogs." That "incentive" is most likely a fine, if a determination is made that an offensive pile belongs to your dog.

As expected, there are critics of the program -- many on privacy grounds, and others because a dog need-not be an offender before being mandated to submit a "sample." So far to my knowledge, nobody has tested the program's legality (if this isn't an unreasonable search and seizure, there may be no such thing).

Nobody disputes the fact that there are health concerns associated with dog poop. That's not to mention its generally annoying qualities -- especially if those qualities end-up on your shoes. Nevertheless, in my humble opinion this idea fits in the "get a life" category! And I write as the owner of two enormous Labrador Retrievers, and the person charged with picking-up their sizable "offerings"

That being said, I do see that there may be franchise opportunities here in San Antonio....