Dog poop is one of those things that raises everyone’s ire. It stinks, it’s a health risk and it’s plain unpleasant.

Pick up poop. A home-made sign in Wellington, New Zealand.

I found this article astonishing. It seems that one or more dog owners in a luxury condo building in Baltimore, USA, not only allow their dogs to poop inside the building, but they don’t clean up afterwards.

Some are suggesting DNA tests to help deal with the issue:

Under the proposal, every dog at Scarlett Place and guest dogs would be swabbed for a DNA sample — owners would then have to pay $50 each to cover the test and supplies. Dog owners would also pay an extra $10 per month per dog to cover the cost of having the building’s staff scoop poop and send it to a lab. Feces, like saliva, contains tell-tale DNA.

If the lab identifies your dog as the pooper, that’s a $500 fine. …

Dog excrement has been found in the elevators, in the long, carpeted hallways, in the common areas.

[Via Doggone DNA - baltimoresun.com.]

That sounded like a great idea, at first, but the article went on to point out some drawbacks to the plan. One suggestion was that a dog owner could be ‘framed’ by someone with a grudge.

I guess I’m most shocked at the idea that some dog owners are so cavalier as to just not pick up after their pet inside the building. We already know people don’t bother outdoors.

Amazing. And time those dog owners became a bit more responsible.

And still on the theme of washing dogs to raise funds … A Baltimore pet spa raised funds recently for military dogs:

there are more than 1,000 military dogs deployed worldwide, including around 700 in Iraq and Afghanistan. Among the supplies being sent are protective goggles that the dogs wear while sniffing out roadside bombs, cooling beds, and more traditional items such as chew toys.

[Via : Dogs have day for the military - baltimoresun.com.]

I have no experience with military dogs. Can any of our readers explain how the goggles protect a dog? Is it from dust, or glare? Because if a bomb went off, I don’t think goggles would help much.