A luxury New York apartment complex has instituted a regime of doggy-discrimination, demanding DNA tests to prove that each dog is of an accepted breed.
The new policy is aimed at purging the building of any pedigrees the co-op board of the Upper West Side apartment tower deems troublesome.
Dog owners are required to have their vet sign off on the pedigree of their canine. If the pet is a mix, the vet must detail the percentage of each breed, and if the breed is unknown then the dog must take a DNA test.
This strict genetic documentation is designed to keep residents from skirting around a long list of dogs it bans due to “documented information regarding their tendency towards aggressiveness”.
This list of 27 includes tiny dog breeds like the Pomeranian and Maltese. It also includes German sheperds, pit bulls, basset hounds, and shih tzu.
“It’s like dog racism,” one resident told DNAinfo. “It’s beyond offensive, it’s intrusive.”
A group of dog owners were considering a formal protest.
The policy bans any dog with more than 50 per cent of a banned breed in their genetic makeup.
The 484-unit tower has banned the breeds since 2011 but the genetic proof requirement was introduced last month.