Dog poop DNA testers take guesswork out of punishing bad pet owners

Who does that?

Now there’s a way to find out who left their dog’s poop behind.

Nick Boosalis, owner of PooPrints, tells KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Show his company tests feces for a dog’s DNA to pinpoint offending pets and their owners.

The company is currently working with about 1,000 rental communities and home owner’s associations, according to Boosalis.

He explained that new tenants swab their dog’s cheek and send it to PooPrints, where they’re entered into the database. A dog poop sample can be sent in and matched against the company’s database. It takes about two weeks to get the results back.

“Each property sets up their own fine system,” Boosalis said.

He added that the whole system works to motivate cleanliness.

“The reason people don’t pick up is they feel they can get away with it … For the most part, the fines are very far and few between. It’s simply now that people can be identified, they start picking up.”

It’s about $40 to register a new dog and another $87 for the testing kit and analysis, which will eventually be passed on to the owner as part of the fine.

“The environmental impact of dog waste is quite bad and it really goes a long way to help,” he said.