Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/111210
6A Daily News ��� Saturday, February 23, 2013 Pets health&activities Complex uses DNA to track owners who don���t scoop poop By Miriam Valverde Sun Sentinel (MCT) FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ��� Tiffany Acosta had a problem. The issue of dog droppings at the properties she manages had gotten so out of hand that neighbors were fighting with each other. Nothing worked to resolve the issue. So late last year Acosta took an extreme measure. She made every dog in the 360-unit Hollywood Station complex submit to DNA testing ��� yes, DNA testing ��� and now when a complex employee finds a mess and tests it, the pet owner gets fined as much as $150. And that has nearly solved the problem, she said. ���It���s been very successful,��� Acosta said. ���I think (the DNA testing) changed people���s behavior. ���It���s brought light to how bad it is. We had to go to this extent.��� The DNA-tracking capability has motivated residents to pick up after their pets and has improved the messy situation by at least 85 percent, Acosta said. About 15 to 20 pet owners have been fined after the DNA collection, she said. It doesn���t take much to start the program. Dog DNA collection is a ���very simple, easy, mess-free, pain-free��� process, said Eric Mayer, business development director for BioPet Vet Lab. Pet owners swab inside the mouth of their dogs and then mail it in a special container to the Tennessee-based laboratory for storage, said Acosta. The dog���s identifying information is stored in a database. ���At that point, the community pet policy is now enforceable,��� Mayer said. Acosta said it costs $35 to register pets and $50 to analyze the waste samples. Hollywood Station doesn���t charge residents to register their pets ��� it���s part of their nonrefundable $350 pet deposit ��� but subsequent fines are subtracted from their security deposit, Acosta said. They���ve upped their violation fee from $100 to $150 to compensate for the testing costs. Whenever people don���t scoop their dogs��� waste, Hollywood Station employees head out to the scene, put on gloves and with a spatula collect a small portion ��� ���the crust��� ��� of the poop, Acosta said. The employee drops the sample into a solution-filled bottle, about 4 inches tall, seals it, shakes it and labels it with the time and place of the evidence. Some employees are thrilled to get a match. ���(Employee Clifton Allman) gets so excited when he gets another one,��� Acosta said. ���He cares.��� Hollywood Station resident Anthony Presciano also cares about the 92ND 1921 ~ 2013 APRIL 19, 20, 21, 2013 (530) 527-1000 ��� 1-800-545-3500 visit us at: www.redbluffroundup.com Like us on facebook RODEO AMERICA���S ORIGINAL EXTREME SPORT! TICKET OFFICE NOW OPEN FOR BEST SELECTION CALL NOW!!! upkeep of the property, but he said he���s been fined by the pooper troopers three times ��� for a total $400 ��� for his basset hound���s accidents. ���The penalty is quite severe,��� Presciano said. Presciano says he picks up properly after Luigi, but he was fined for incidents when Luigi went two times in one outing and Presciano didn���t have a second bag to pick up after him. The ���paranoid��� policing is one of the factors that���s prompted Presciano not to renew his lease, he said. After two years of living in Hollywood, Fla., he will soon move to a quieter place, Presciano said. ���You live here, you don���t want to feel uncomfortable,��� he said. About one-third of residents in the townhomes, condominiums and lofts own the estimated 100 dogs living at the properties, Acosta said. The dogs make a mess, and many owners don���t bother with cleaning up. ���That���s 200 piles of poop a day that people don���t pick up. That���s a lot of poop,��� Acosta said. Resident Yanin Carvallo planned on taking her Pomeranian, Reggie, to the vet out of concern that he may have gotten sick because of the poop still lingering around the few grassy areas in the complex, she said. She doesn���t think the DNA tracking is working as well as it should. ���It���s everywhere,��� Carvallo said, after dropping a small, black, poop-filled bag into a trash bin. ���I have to wipe his paws when I get home.��� BioPet Vet Lab, which works with hundreds of groups in 35 states, gets involved when condo associations get frustrated after unsuccessfully trying several ways to catch the culprits, Mayer said. ���They���re fed up with residents complaining. And visitors who are looking to buy condos, if they see mess on the ground, they decide not to live there,��� Mayer said. Acosta used to joke about collecting dog DNA for poop-tracking purposes before realizing there was actually a company doing that, she said. ���When we found out, it was a no-brainer,��� Acosta said. Chain reaction - Part I By RONNIE CASEY In any neighborhood, on any street, around any corner, there is a good chance you will see man���s best friend confined to the end of a chain. Dogs are social beings. Simply put, they like being around other animals and humans. These animals want companionship. Put a dog on a chain (or tether) and leave him alone in one spot for days, months, or even years and he will suffer immensely, both physically and psychologically. If one takes a friendly dog and keeps him continuously chained, the animal will often become aggressive. So why does chaining increase aggression? When confronted with perceived threats dogs respond, like most living creatures, according to their fight-or-flight instinct. A chained dog, unable to take flight, will feel forced to fight, attacking any unfamiliar animal or person who enters his territory. These dogs cannot distinguish between friend or foe, because they have not been adequately socialized. Unfortunately, the victims of attack are often children who are unaware of the danger of approaching "the nice doggy." Furthermore, a tethered dog who may manage to break loose from his bonds is likely to chase and attack anything in its path, whether it be unsuspecting people or animals. In addition, these chained dogs endure unbelievable hardship. They suffer from erratic feeding, overturned water bowls, and have no, or limited access to, adequate medical care. It is not unusual to find a chained dog starved, dehydrated, and ill because it had become entangled in its chain and was unable to access food or water. They also suffer from weather variations. During periods of extreme cold, there is no warmth. Rarely is there adequate shelter during heavy periods of rain and snow. When temperatures soar to triple digits, they often do not have protection from the sun or sufficient, clean water to quench their thirst. Moreover, because they are in a very confined area, not only do they sleep, defecate and eat all in one place but often it is nothing but a patch of hardened dirt or mud that is rarely, if ever, cleaned. In many cases, the ropes encircling their necks or the tight collars worn become embedded, the result of years of neglect and constantly straining to escape their bond of confinement. Chained dogs are rarely given affection simply because their owners can easily ignore them. As a result, approaching them becomes more and more difficult because of the inadequate socialization. In addition, dogs forced to live on a chain are very vulnerable to other animals and cruel people. Many have suffered immensely from the hands of merciless individuals. They have been shot at, set on fire, tortured beyond endurance and poisoned. They are very easy targets for thieves looking to steal animals for sale or use them for dog fighting operations. As a final indignity, the dog���s chain can easily become tangled, thus slowly strangling him to death. Under the California Health and Safety Code, Section 122335, it is illegal to tether, fasten, chain, tie, or restrain a dog, to a doghouse, tree, fence, or any other stationary object. It is further prohibited to tether a dog to a running line, trolley, or pulley with a choke collar or pinch collar. It is legal to tether a dog for any activity not fitting into any exemption, provided the restraining of the dog is necessary for the completion of a task, is temporary, and lasts only for a reasonable period of time. The California law defines a reasonable period of time as no more than three hours in a 24-hour period. Animal control, however, can authorize a longer reasonable period in particular cases. Violation of the dog-tethering laws in California is either an infraction or a misdemeanor, depending on the severity. Upon conviction, an infraction is punishable by a fine of up to $250 per illegally tethered dog. A misdemeanor violation carries a penalty of up to $1,000 in fines per dog, six months in county jail, or both. Animal control does have the discretion to issue a warning requiring a dog owner to correct the violation instead of recommending criminal charges, but may not issue a warning if the dog has been injured by the violation or a previous warning has been issued. Chaining is a terribly cruel fate for the animal we consider to be "Man���s best friend." Ronnie Casey is a volunteer with Providing Essentials for Tehama Shelter. You can read her blog, Mutts & Moggies, at redbluffdailynews.com.