‘Dog Racism’ Is Probably Legal, Probably Bad

Hey, you whippet-daschund mixes passing as regular wiener dogs—170 West End Avenue is onto you. DNAinfo New York reports that the co-op board of the luxury Manhattan apartment building will begin to implement a new policy aimed at rooting out targeted “troublesome” dog breeds—one that could involve cheek swabs, pipettes, and polymerase chain reactions. Yes, the board has threatened to DNA test those dogs whose owners don’t have their veterinarian report their pooch’s pedigree and submit a report to the board.

The policy, passed last month, bans 27 breeds of dog, including pomerianians, shih tzus, German shepherds, pit bulls, basset hounds, and St. Bernards (no, not Beethoven!). It also forbids mutts of more than 50 percent of those breeds from moving in.