NORFOLK, Va. - Swabbing Dexter’s mouth was a first for his owner, Yuri Campbell.
“It was pretty weird. I felt like it was a little nurse trying to help him out,” Campbell told News 3.
She was getting a sample of his DNA.
“He’s gonna eat it,” she said laughingly as Dexter tried moving.
Her apartment complex Norfolk's The Watermark at Talbot Park collects the material from every dog living on the property.
The reason is a smelly, often times, messy one.
“We utilize Mr. Dog Poop Inc. to, it’s a DNA program to identify dogs and to help with fecal matter on the property on the property,” Property Manager Bernard Redmond said.
It’s a program they started a few months ago.
“It's more of a preventative measure type program. We wanted to make sure and keep the grounds clean,” Redmond explained.
If you decide to not use the pet waste station and the feces is found, a sample will be mixed with a chemical and shipped to a crime lab in Florida.
“Being that we are located on the banks of the Lafayette River, of course, we are very environmentally friendly and cautious about things that are going into the river and the wetlands,” Redmond said.
Management says they’ve only found poop in the grass once.
However, they weren’t able to find the owner because it was before they collected all of the samples.
If your dog’s poop is found, it could cost you up to $200.
