Pet waste is a big problem across the country. PooPrints, a Knoxville-based DNA laboratory, addresses this issue and specializes in analyzing dog feces.
A Tennessee laboratory is helping communities fed up with dog owners who don’t clean up after their pets by using DNA technology to trace the offenders and hold them accountable.
Pet waste is a big problem across the country. Unsuspecting walkers can find themselves in a big mess after stepping in it, and other dogs can get sick from coming into contact with it.
PooPrints, a Knoxville-based DNA laboratory, addresses this issue and specializes in analyzing dog feces.
The lab says they process 18,000 samples a month from more than 7,000 communities across the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.
According to the lab, they’ve already generated more than $65 million in fines for their clients, including an apartment complex near Salt Lake City, Utah, dedicated to holding its residents accountable if they don’t pick up after their dogs. That apartment complex requires its residents to swab their dogs for DNA, PooPrints CEO J. Retinger tells Inside Edition.
“Simple cheek swab that gets DNA from that dog,” he says. “And when they find a poo, they’ll take a small little sample, and we match it back to the poop-a-trator.”
First-time offenders are typically slapped with a $250 fine.
Those who are caught again face a fine that’s nearly doubled.
Inside Edition put the lab’s technology to the test with the help of three dog owners by investigating which of their dogs made a mess. For more on the investigation’s results, please watch the video above.
