Using DNA To Nab Pooping Perpetrators

by Phil McIlrath, KDLT News
February 06, 2012 5:27 AM


 The game of whodunit when it comes to dog doo at Boulder Pointe has reached its peak.

"It's always been a problem with people not picking up after their dogs,"said Property Manager, Lisa Liston.

"It's nice to have it picked up,"said Resident Michelle Oakes.
"Is it a problem around here?" asked McIlrath.
"In some areas,"said Oakes.

But soon discarded poop on the property will prove to be pretty pricey, but also verified by DNA analysis

"It's awfully exciting, said Liston. "I thought this is it...that's what we need to do."

Midwest Property Services, which owns about 650 apartments and town homes in the Sioux Falls area, will soon begin fining residents for dog waste that's not attended to, and going after them with DNA proof.  
    
A DNA sample will be collected from each dog on the property and sent  off to an independent firm to be logged.
    
When they find a dropping on the property they'll send a sample to the lab for analysis and...

"When they get a match...they'll tell me dog  DNA XYZ...and we look it up on our chart and we say 'Okay, that's Suzy Smith's Dog',"said Liston.

But some resident aren't too happy about having to pay to have their dogs DNA tested. The price: $30 per pooch.

"I pick up my dogs mess every time he goes, so it would be nice if they would take it out of the deposit to have this done," said Oakes.

"To have to pay ourselves to have our dogs tested? We already have to pay to have them live here so to have to pay some more to have their DNA tested was kind of crazy to us," says Sena Peterson, Boulder Pointe Resident.

Property managers agree-this is pretty far out,  but say this is the only way to be fair while keeping the property clean and safe for all residents.

"It's to their benefit just as much as it is to the health of their dog because it is a health risk,"said Liston.

The new system will go into effect at Midwest properties later this month.

If a dog's waste is found and verified on the property, the resident will be fined $100.

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