A condo complex in northern New Jersey has turned to science to help track down residents who allow their dogs to defecate and not cleaning up after their pets. To keep their community droppings-free, Hudson Harbour in Edgewater has turned to policing its dog owners.  The condo community requ ires residents to get their dogs swabbed so genetic profiles are kept on file with Pooprints, a DNA dog waste management company. The company uses those profiles to match the dogs in its database to droppings that are collected and sent to its lab when dog owners fail to clean up behind their canine friends.  Property manager Christina Ortiz compared it to a doggy COVID test.  “They have a whole lab,” Ortiz said. “And then they maintain a DNA database of every dog in the building.”  Ortiz is in charge of collecting the droppings with a kit provided by Pooprints. It requires her to use a plastic knife to collect a small sample of the feces, which is then placed in a tube and shipped off in a biohazard bag to Pooprints’ lab where it’s analyzed.  “I mean, at this point, I’m used to it. So it doesn’t really gross me out anymore,” she said. “Normally within a week they give us results and they are able to tell us which dog it belongs to.”  Ortiz said dog owners who do not pick up after their pooch could face a $250 fine.  Mike Gordon, who lives in the community with his 6-year-old Cavapoo named Eggsy, said it’s the price you have to pay to keep it beautiful.  “I don’t have a problem with that,” Gordon said. “I would make it steeper even, because there’s still some instances where we run across some people leaving some stuff behind.”  Eliana Marquez said she’s happy the community is taking the problem seriously. She often walks her Yorkipoo, Lola, and said it’s an inconvenience to dodge dog droppings.  “[It’s] very annoying if you’re walking, especially of course if you step in it,” Marquez said. “Why should everyone have to deal with your dog’s poop?”  The scientific way to sniff out the perpetrators is catching on in the tri-state. BioPetLabs, Pooprints parent company, said it services nearly 300 communities between New York State and New Jersey, including 40 in Jersey City alone. Nationally that number jumps to 9,000.  “This is apartments, condos, HOA neighborhoods and dog parks,” a representative for BioPetLabs said. “We’ve been a staple in apartments for years, but have seen interest increase significantly in the HOA space in the last few years as DNA technology becomes more mainstream and pet ownership increases.”  Marquez said it’s been a great deterrent for people who need an incentive to think twice about not cleaning up after their dogs. “I think it could only improve the property,” she said. “I love the technology.”  ...read more read less