The only thing worse than stepping in dog poop is knowing there's pretty much no way to track down the guilty pet owner.
That's where PooPrints comes in. The service, created by BioPet Vet Lab in Tennessee, can be purchased by entire housing complexes or housing developments that are willing to make pet DNA swabbing a requirement for residents. That way, if anyone ever comes across a pile of abandoned feces on the street, PooPrints can take a sample, send it to a lab and instantly know which dog, and consequently which owner, is the culprit.
The actions of just a few pet owners can transform entire neighborhoods into a battlefield full of doggy doo mines, which is why communities in over 33 states have signed up for PooPrints' services. Here in Los Angeles, franchise owner Kevin Sharpton of PooPrints West sees a day when entire cities will sign up for the service so that samples from public parks and streets can be tested and traced back to negligent owners.
Sharpton told ABC Los Angeles that a fine of $150 is enough to cover the cost of the DNA sampling, although he does know of some communities in Florida that have charged offending residents up to $1,000.
Of course, abandoned dog waste isn't just an LA problem. Check out signs from around the world asking people to pick up after their pooches and let us know in the comments below: what would you do if you caught your neighbor walking away from their dog's steaming fresh pile?
