2014/12/30
Chicago Tribune December 26, 2014: Using DNA to catch canine culprits - and their nefarious owners
Joe Gillmer had a problem. A big, stinky, sole-troubling problem plaguing the condos, where he serves as board vice president.
How to put this gently? Dog, er, waste in the vestibule, in the elevator (yes, really), and — this particularly incensed Gillmer — in the garage beside handicapped parking, making life difficult for residents with physical challenges.
"What were we going to do?" Gillmer says. "Put up 13 cameras for $100,000 with the slim chance of catching the guy?"
Instead, the Midtown Alexandria Station condo association hired a service called PooPrints to match evidence from the crime scene to registered DNA taken from all condo dogs.
Yes, yes, Gillmer has heard all the jokes: "CSI: Manure," you name it. "I got a lot of criticism," he recalls. "They called me the 'Czar of Poop.' "
But here's the thing: After the service was started a year ago, "we only had to test one sample," Gillmer says of the only scatological crime since committed — only one! This in a building with 368 units and about 600 human and 60 canine residents. That's the sort of success that law enforcement agencies can only dream of. Now, no one dares pooh-pooh the progress that has been made. more