Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

yg17

macrumors Pentium
Original poster
Aug 1, 2004
15,030
3,011
St. Louis, MO
This is a bunch of bull, err, dog****. They're going way too far IMO.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/dna-samples-will-determine-if-jupiter-residents-arent-1568967.html
JUPITER — If your pooch poops, you pay.
Plagued with pets that do business in all the wrong places, dog owners in the Village of Abacoa, a condominium association of 458 units, must pay a $200 fee starting Aug. 1. The money will pay DNA Pet World Registry to take the dog's genetic fingerprint and keep the information on file.
Doggie droppings found in condo common areas will be collected and mailed in a plastic tube to the Knoxville, Tenn.-based company. If the poop matches the pooch, the owners can be fined up to $1,000. If they don't pay, a lien can be placed on their home, said Susan Nellen, property manager for Versa Property Management, which manages the condo near Roger Dean Stadium.
Not everyone supports the policy.
"This is nuts. They will be testing all kinds of poop. Is this America?" said Troy Holloway, who owns one of the condos.
But managers say they have no choice. Dogs are defecating and urinating in elevators, in stairwells, on carpets and in the lobby, as well as common areas outside. The condo association is spending $10,000 to $12,000 a year replacing and cleaning, said Matthew Brickman, president of the Village of Abacoa Condominium Association.
"The smell is disgusting. Residents are embarrassed to have company. Dog crap is everywhere," Nellen said.
The process works like this:
Beginning Aug. 1 and until Aug. 31, a dog owner must pay a $200 one-time fee for a swab to be taken from their dog's mouth. DNA Pet World Registry uses the swab to determine the dog's DNA sample. The dog is issued a identification tag to wear on its collar. Owners who pay after Aug. 31 will be charged $500.
A maintenance person from Versa Management will collect marble-sized samples found in restricted areas. The samples go in a leakproof plastic container about the size of a small perfume bottle containing DNA stabilization solution. The container is mailed to DNA Pet World, where the identification test is done.
If the illegal poop matches a registered dog, the owner can be fined. If the problem persists, the animal can be confiscated, Brickman said.
"It's not the dog's fault. Many are trapped inside all day while their owners work. That's why I don't have a dog," said Brickman, who lives in the condo.
He figures about 40 percent of residents own dogs.
The usual charge for signing up and testing a dog is about $90. That includes the swab, the container and the DNA matchup, said Eric Mayer, director of franchise development for PooPrints, a Knoxville-based company that works with DNA World Pet Registry.
The $200 to $500 per pet owner will defray cleanup costs and pay for doggie bags distributed free in the condo, Brickman said.
Feces identification is a booming business. DNA Pet World and PooPrints - its motto is "Match the Mess through DNA" - are spinoffs from BioPet Vet Labs. They started in October. By the end of the year, they expect 300 American franchises, Mayer said.
The process only works for feces. There is not enough DNA in urine to make a match, Mayer said.
Despite the high cost, the penalty might not prevent the problem, Holloway said.
And the expense will be a hit on residents on a tight budget. Holloway's tenant owns a teacup breed dog that weighs about 2 pounds.
"That's $250 a pound. That's an expensive dog," Holloway said.
 
So why doesn't my HOA come up with something like this. I don't own a single pet, but my yard if filled with pet crap, mostly dogs and cats. We have a leash laws and pooper scooper laws (pet droppings must be cleaned up) in my city, but these ignorant pet owners don't seem to care.

I've caught an owner in the act of letting his dog poop on my lawn. I forced him to pick clean it up on the spot. He didn't have a plastic bag (considerate pet owners always carry one when walking their dogs to clean up the droppings per pooper scooper law requirement). I told him to pick it up with his bare hands unless he wants to meet the business end of a louisville slugger.:mad:

There's more than just the stink problem. Dogs and cats are carnivores. Their droppings poses a health dangers.

IMG00014-20110430-1246-420x315.jpg
 
I love it. Way too many dog owners don't give a **** about their neighbors leaving dog **** on the lawns and having barking dogs and leaving their windows wide open. I'm all for maximum pain for them. :D

I'm having an issue with a neighbor in my condo. I will catch that bitch on my iPhone. The Code Enforcement office in the village said if I did, he'd ticket her.
 
I live in suburbs in the east bay, CA, but once i was in San Francisco with my friend who lives in the city with his dogs, we were out walking them and one of them went to the bathroom, and my friend didn't even pick it up we just kept walking. I didn't want to say anything, but i was think "that discussing". In my home owners association theres a law that says you will get a fine if you don't pick up dog poo, and i will say the parks stay pretty clean.
 
Round here dog walkers just go into the woods and forests, you don't really get anything on the streets.
 
I LOVE this. I lived in a really nice, brand new apartment building that allowed dogs. It quickly made the place deteriorate until I didn't want to live there anymore. People would walk their dogs on the grounds, even by the pool, and not pick up the ****. Once, I opened my front door and there was **** in the hallway. Signs, mailed notices, and threats did little to curb the lazy, disgusting behavior. I moved out after my year lease was up.

There's a reason I don't have a dog, I don't want the responsibility right now. I wish people would either act responsibly or not get dogs at all. No one wants to step in your animal's ****.
 
So, every dog owner, no matter if he takes care of his dogs feces or not, is being punished by having to pay for the DNA-taking? Great stuff, hello 1984!

All that comes from governments these days is more laws, more taxes, more laws, more taxes.
 
So, every dog owner, no matter if he takes care of his dogs feces or not, is being punished by having to pay for the DNA-taking? Great stuff, hello 1984!
This isn't low-income housing we're talking about here. I'll bet the residents can easily afford it.

All that comes from governments these days is more laws, more taxes, more laws, more taxes.
Government? No, condo association. That means if the residents don't like it, they can show up at the meeting and be heard and if needed, vote in a new board.
 
I think it's a brilliant idea. I've got two dogs and always make sure I clean up after them, but unfortunately too many dog owners don't.

My daughter plays junior soccer and before every game we have to go over the whole pitch picking up dog faeces that thoughtless owners have let their dogs leave behind, and it's a gut wrenchingly disgusting task. Anything that makes owners takes responsibility gets a massive thumbs up from me
 
So, every dog owner, no matter if he takes care of his dogs feces or not, is being punished by having to pay for the DNA-taking? Great stuff, hello 1984!

All that comes from governments these days is more laws, more taxes, more laws, more taxes.

Government? Did you read the article?

1984? Did you read the book?
 
Government? Did you read the article?

1984? Did you read the book?

Yes and yes. I'm no native English speaker though, so I interpreted "condo association" with something official.

It's still a stupid idea though. Punishing the ones that actually did everything right.

I think it's a brilliant idea. I've got two dogs and always make sure I clean up after them, but unfortunately too many dog owners don't.

So you would like to pay $200 or $500 even though you clean up after them?

This isn't low-income housing we're talking about here. I'll bet the residents can easily afford it.

I don't think this is a good argument. As an example: How about an extra computer tax for every Mac user? These are expensive machines, I bet every Mac user could afford an extra $200.
 
Last edited:
I don't think this is a good argument. As an example: How about an extra computer tax for every Mac user? These are expensive machines, I bet every Mac user could afford an extra $200.

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Do Macs poop on the floor? If people choose to have pets then they need to look after them. How would you feel if I brought my 2 year old son over to your front lawn to poop every morning?
I think it's a great rule and if people don't like it they can GTFO...
 
Yes and yes. I'm no native English speaker though, so I interpreted "condo association" with something official.

I'll give ya a pass on the government misunderstanding, but I fail to see how this relates to 1984.

It's still a stupid idea though. Punishing the ones that actually did everything right.

So you would like to pay $200 or $500 even though you clean up after them?

Personally, I'd be happy to pay a one time fee to help ensure things stay clean in the public/communal spaces.

I don't think this is a good argument. As an example: How about an extra computer tax for every Mac user? These are expensive machines, I bet every Mac user could afford an extra $200.

I agree that "they can afford it" is a bad argument, but so is your "Mac computer tax" argument. What public (or in this case communal) good is being funded by this "Mac tax" of yours? You would have us balk at a completely superfluous tax that appears to serve no purpose. However, the one time dog DNA testing fee actually serves a purpose. It incentivizes owners to pick up after their dog and therefore helps to keep the public/communal areas clean.
 
This isn't low-income housing we're talking about here. I'll bet the residents can easily afford it.


Government? No, condo association. That means if the residents don't like it, they can show up at the meeting and be heard and if needed, vote in a new board.

A condo association is basically a government. You're already living under a hierarchy of federal, state, and municipal laws and then you throw in an additional covenant that can be far more oppressive than anything the other three can dish out.

I've lived under two of them and they are terrible. They're harder and harder to escape now because even single family neighborhoods are forming them - you pay for the privilege of being told what to do, and don't get any services out of it.

As far as the issue at hand goes, yeah, it's always an issue in any neighborhood. What I can't understand, though, is how anyone could care about it SO much that they would go to this level. It's truly insane. Whatever happened to good old fashioned complaints?
 
A condo association is basically a government. You're already living under a hierarchy of federal, state, and municipal laws and then you throw in an additional covenant that can be far more oppressive than anything the other three can dish out.

I've lived under two of them and they are terrible. They're harder and harder to escape now because even single family neighborhoods are forming them - you pay for the privilege of being told what to do, and don't get any services out of it.

As far as the issue at hand goes, yeah, it's always an issue in any neighborhood. What I can't understand, though, is how anyone could care about it SO much that they would go to this level. It's truly insane. Whatever happened to good old fashioned complaints?

Complaints go no where if you can not enforce them.

As for the HOA they do provide services big time for condos.
Services they provide is often care and maintenance of the public land on the property/neighborhood. They pay for the pool ect.

Now how bad the HOA depends on the HOA. The one my parents live under is not very bad and the rules are fairly simple. Keep lawn mowed, limited colors you can paint your house (basic normal house colors)
Cars that are not used can not be stored in driveway (no cars on blocks)
Do not store RV/trailers in driveway.

Now the storing rules are pretty relaxed. If you have your RV/trailer there a few days they are not going to give a rats ass but it prevents long term storage.

As for this one it pretty clear they are having a problem with people not picking up there dog's poop like they should. Now our front yard has some dog poop in it but it is from our dog and it is also in a more confided area. Other peoples dog I do not want their **** in my yard. PICK IT UP.

I know when I walk my dog I have her take a crap in the back yard before I leave and then do not have to worry about it. Only time I have left the **** in someone else yard was it was at the start of the walk and I knew I would be coming back by there on my way back.

I am willing to bet anyone will gets in trouble for this will only pay the fine once and then never again leave their dogs **** out there.
 
They don't work. Plain and simple. Unless you can catch the perp red handed, nothing changes. This is the only way to do it short of installing cameras everywhere.

No, none of that is true. HOAs can and do give out fines for this based on complaints. You don't get a trial in a court of law. You pay or lose your house.

As for the association issue. This is why I wouldn't buy into a development, be that condo or single family neighborhoods. When I am ready, I'll buy a plot of land and build my own damn house on it thus avoiding the whole issue. The moment you buy into an existing situation, that can become a problem, if you don't, they can form all they want, you don't have to partake.

Getting harder and harder to do, unfortunately.
 
As far as the issue at hand goes, yeah, it's always an issue in any neighborhood. What I can't understand, though, is how anyone could care about it SO much that they would go to this level. It's truly insane. Whatever happened to good old fashioned complaints?

And when complaints fail to curb the activity?
 
Now how bad the HOA depends on the HOA. The one my parents live under is not very bad and the rules are fairly simple. Keep lawn mowed, limited colors you can paint your house (basic normal house colors)
Cars that are not used can not be stored in driveway (no cars on blocks)
Do not store RV/trailers in driveway.

I find a lot of perception has to do with luck. I have some neighbors that think the HOA is great, because they happen to have never had any of their oxes gored by them.

I've got one of those HOAs that follows HOA trends around the country. Some of the things they do are questionable or illegal, but no one really knows how to organize or has bothered to challenge it.

Some highlights:

- All motorcycles were evicted from the development
- No washing your car
- No satellite dishes (this one we've confirmed violates federal law)
 
I find a lot of perception has to do with luck. I have some neighbors that think the HOA is great, because they happen to have never had any of their oxes gored by them.

I've got one of those HOAs that follows HOA trends around the country. Some of the things they do are questionable or illegal, but no one really knows how to organize or has bothered to challenge it.

Some highlights:

- All motorcycles were evicted from the development
- No washing your car
- No satellite dishes (this one we've confirmed violates federal law)

Don't get me wrong. Some of this HOAs and condo boards can be downright fascist. But we are only talking about DNA testing dog poop here nothing else.

Edit:

I don't know what you do then. The answer is probably not "compile massive doggie DNA database".

Burn a bag of the stuff on their porch?

I think the problem here is no one knows who is doing it.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.