Dallas dog poo may fetch big profits

DALLAS (NBC/KXAS) - Dog may be man's best friend, but sometimes the best friend is not so great at picking up what dogs leave behind.

There is a campaign in Dallas to use DNA to track down the dog and the owner, and it could turn a profit.

Responsible dog owners agree those who don't scoop their poop are a real nuisance.

"Part of being a dog owner is taking care of your dog's mess," said dog owner Nancy Perry.

At the Ilume apartments on Cedar Springs, every owner must have their pet swabbed for a DNA sample that's entered into the World Pet Registry.

"And in the World Pet Registry, you can store anything from your shot records, your medical records for your pet, your animal, as well as, you can get alerts," said Cedric Moses, with Poo Prints.

It could help an owner find a lost dog, but if the complex finds a mess on the property it sends in a sample to match the DNA. The owner then faces a $250 fine -- or even eviction.

"And now we've gone from picking up maybe an hour-a-day of poop, to picking up maybe one or two a month,” Ilume Manager Joshuah Welch.

The company charges $30 for the swab and $50 for the DNA tests, but it figures the city of Dallas could earn millions of dollars on fines for the millions of pounds of poop left on city streets.

"I see the councilmember laughing at me, ha, ha,” said Chris Taylor of Poo Prints as he presented the profit potential before the City Council. “So that's what we're talking about."

Some councilmembers chuckled about the big numbers but want to hear more about the plan.

"I think that's a great idea,” said Councilwoman Angela Hunt. “I think we do need enforcement, especially in some of our denser areas where you have a lot of folks living with dogs and if they're not picking up, it creates a problem.”

"It seems like there's bigger problems than picking up dog poop? Ha ha. I don't know," said Perry.