Temple Apartments Demand Dog DNA for Poop Database
An apartment in Central Texas is asking residents to pay for DNA testing for a dog database that should help eliminate pet waste.
Okay, so I moved here from Waco to be closer to work about six months ago. I have a pup named Sonny, so finding a pet friendly place to live was a must. Now, this is far from easy considering several places charge high costs for residents to own a pet.
There are pet deposits, pet rent, pet interviews, plus weight and breed restrictions. Finding a nice place for not only yourself, but your fur family can be exhausting. Luckily I found a nice place to call home for myself and Sonny, but recently they've modified their pet policy.
Apparently some residents are not scooping their dog's waste, and the complex is frustrated. Now, again, I've only lived here 6 months, but I've only received one notification of these poop problems via email two weeks ago.
Well, yesterday my apartments sent out an email saying that they will be participating in a program called Pooprints.
Management is requiring all residents with dogs to schedule an appointment with the office to come in and have your dog DNA tested. The resident will be required to pay the $50 DNA test fee.
My first thought is, this is ridiculous. Personally, I was on a payment plan to pay for the pet deposit, and I just finished paying that off. Now the complex wants me to pay $50 because some people aren't scooping their pet's poop?
The letter further states that if dog poop matches your dog, you will be charged a $150 fine for the first occurrence and $200 for each additional occurrence, plus an additional $50 for the poop being tested.
The DNA testing is mandatory. If a resident does not comply, they will be fined $150 every month and risk the termination of their lease.
So here's my thing: I am a full-on dog mom. Sonny is my baby. I don't consider myself a conspiracy person, but I feel so uneasy about just giving my dog's DNA away. I feel like they're putting my Sonny into some kind of criminal doggy database. My dog hasn't done anything wrong and I think it's unfair that we're facing the consequences for the bad habits of a select few.
I'm smack dab in the middle of my lease, so I honestly don't know what to do. It's just so weird and strange to me.
I know we have all this new technology and we live in a different time these days, but have we really landed at mandatory dog poop DNA testing?
I surveyed the office here to see if I was alone in these thoughts, and so far everyone has told me that they WOULD NOT be comfortable giving up their dog's DNA.
A quick Google search told me that, while my dog was born in America 😉 , he doesn't have rights. Basically I learned that the law considers him property, and that he has as many rights as my couch. My baby is alive and has thoughts and feelings, so I definitely feel like doggy rights need to be a thing.
What are your thoughts? Am I crazy for not wanting to give up my dog's DNA?
Check out the full letter below (or see a larger version here), then vote in the poll and let us know what you think. Would you submit your dog's DNA?