Skip to main content

Big Brother’s coming after your dogs: TX apartment will DNA match pet droppings to fine the right owners

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you thought there wasn’t much you could blame but bad luck when you step on dog poo in the street, think again. An apartment complex in Texas is sick and tired of its tenants’ lazy behavior that it is planning to test the critter litters’ DNAs to match the pile to the correct dog.

The Northside at Legacy apartment in Plano, Texas will begin to require DNA samples from residents with dogs so that if the maintenance team catches any droppings, it could identify the dog and link it back to its owner. Said owner will then be fined $250 for his or her lack of consideration, and may be evicted for repeated offenses. Owners will only have to bring their pets in for a DNA swab from inside the mouth, making the procedure non-invasive but… still pretty invasive. Who wants their poop DNA tested? If we’re gonna go this extreme, why aren’t we doing anything about public urinations by our fellow humans?

Recommended Videos

The pet waste management system is run by a company called PooPrints who had once pitched its service to entire cities in Texas, but has only attracted a few apartment complexes. The idea is a rather extreme but perhaps necessary conduct in order to get its residents to obey communal rules, claiming that this is all in an effort to improve sanitation and environmental surroundings. Still, the idea doesn’t come without a few raised eyebrows. Is this where DNA testing technology has gotten us outside of paternity tests on day time talk shows and Teen Mom? Yet, we still don’t know who killed John F. Kennedy. Even more interestingly, if more apartments begin to adopt the technology, soon, the world will have a DNA record for almost all dogs. I’m not sure what we’d do with that information except for lost dog registries, but it seems like a pretty wild database to have.

Hate or love the idea, if you want pristine living complexes and don’t plan to raise a big stink about it, The Northside does look like a pretty nice lookin’ complex.

[Image via Shutterstock/mlorenz]

Natt Garun
Former Digital Trends Contributor
An avid gadgets and Internet culture enthusiast, Natt Garun spends her days bringing you the funniest, coolest, and strangest…
Get a Bella Pro touchscreen air fryer for only $70 at Best Buy
The Bella Pro touchscreen air fryer on a white background.

You may be tempted to invest in a high-end and expensive air fryer, but air fryer deals don’t actually have to be expensive. Instead, you can get a lot for under $100. Right now, you can buy the Bella Pro 8-quart touchscreen air fryer for $70 instead of $110 at Best Buy. It’s ideal if you’re new to air frying and don’t want to spend too much. Read on and we’ll tell you all about what it has to offer for this excellent price.

Why you should buy the Bella Pro 8-quart touchscreen air fryer
Bella isn’t a name you’ll see among the very best air fryers, but it’s a reliable budget brand for kitchen appliances. This particular model is intelligently designed. Besides the typical benefits of an air fryer, such as your food having 75% less fat and a crisper texture, the Bella Pro 8-quart touchscreen air fryer also knows what you need from it.

Read more
The 6 best smart displays for Alexa and Google Home in 2025
Nest Hub Max Hands-On Review

If you're looking for a way to control all your smart home devices, adding a smart display to your lineup is a great option. Not only do these gadgets make it easy to activate smart lights, smart thermostats, or smart cameras, but you can access a wide range of apps with them -- including Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, and other popular software.

Shopping for a smart display for Alexa or Google Home is a bit more challenging than you'd expect, as so many of the products share overlapping specs. And if you're entirely new to the world of smart homes, you'll have to choose between Google Home and Amazon Alexa as your central smart home platform. Once you've done that, things are a bit easier to manage.

Read more
Roborock Saros 10 vs. Roborock Saros 10R: which robot vacuum is better?
The Saros 10R dock

The Roborock Saros 10 and Roborock Saros 10R are two of the newest robot vacuums on the market. Featuring similar price tags but some strikingly different features, it could be difficult to figure out whether the Saros 10 or Saros 10R is a better fit for your home. Thankfully, you really can’t go wrong with either one, as they’re both premium robots designed to automate your floor cleaning needs.

However, there are a few key differences that could make one a slightly better match for your floors than the other. Here’s a closer look at both robot vacuums to help you decide.
Pricing and design
The Roborock Saros 10 costs $1,600, as does the Roborock Saros 10R. They look quite similar too, with a standard rectangular dock and circular robot body that’s sleek and slim. The Saros 10 uses a retractable LDS on the top of the unit (which looks a bit like a circular dial) while the Saros 10R doesn’t have this protrusion at all. There are also some big differences when it comes to the underside of the devices, as the 10R uses rotating mops, whereas the Saros 10 uses a vibrating mopping plate. But no matter how you cut it, both are great-looking devices.

Read more