Selectmen are sending a message to dog owners in town: pick up the poop or pull out your pocketbook.

The board and several residents discussed the issue of dogs in parks, leash bylaws, and pooper scooper laws at Tuesday’s meeting.

“None of us would tolerate human waste in the streets of Mattapoisett or in the beaches or parks of Mattapoisett,” Selectman Paul Silva.

But that’s just what is happening with the dog population, said Selectmen, and it’s a pollution problem.

“The e.coli in a dog is almost twice what it is in a human,” said Silva.

Town Administrator Mike Gagne said the issue may be affecting the bacteria levels at beaches, contributing to closings this summer. In particular, Gagne mentioned the recent week-long closing of Ned’s Point – an area where he often sees dogs in prohibited areas.

According to Silva, 30 to 40 percent of people in America don’t pick up after their dogs. Translating those numbers for Mattapoisett, Silva said one-third of the dog population is approximately 400 dogs.

“Dogs have three-quarters of a pound of poop a day, which is the same as a human being,” said Silva. “You take those 400 dogs…that’s 55 tons of waste that’s hitting the ground a year.”

Although signs are posted at Ned’s Point, Town Beach, and Shipyard Park, people often disregard them. For those disregarding the signs or not picking up after their dogs, there is a fine.

Under the current system, the first ticket is waved on appeal, said Gagne. The second ticket is only $10.

For Animal Control Officer Kathy Massey and her assistants, keeping up with offenders is a challenge.

“These people should be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves to let this happen,” she said. “I feel like a bad dog owner babysitter.”

Massey also wanted to add a fine for dogs found without their registration collars.

“The excuses I get are quite interesting [as to] why the collar is not on that dog,” said Massey. Both Massey and Selectman Jeremy Collier said residents have responded with “colorful” language when they point out dog-related infractions.

Collyer’s suggestion to “give the fines more bite” will no doubt result in more expletives lobbed at Animal Control, but officials agreed it was one of several crucial steps to prevent people from continuing to ignore the rules.

To encourage people to follow the rules, Selectmen also discussed increasing the drop stations where pet owners can get waste bags. Currently, there are three.

Ultimately, Silva said in addition to litigation, education is crucial to solving the issue.

Several residents at the meeting were in agreement.

“I’m really pleased to hear that we’re seriously thinking about putting some effort into finding people who do not pick up,” said Christine Voss, a dog owner.

Voss said she hands bags to other dog walkers who aren’t scooping up waste, and would welcome an increase in the yearly registration fee if it meant the town could add more drop stations.

Resident Mary Roberts, however, said she didn’t believe dogs were the issue.

“I walk my dogs three times a day. I have to be perfectly honest—I go through the park, walk up and down Water Street, walk through the elementary school lawn. The amount of times that I ever see dog fecal matter is nominal,” she said.

“If we’re going to educate the people, what about educating about what people are putting on their lawns that is going into Buzzards Bay?”

Silva responded, “Don’t sit here and say we’re after dogs. This is a people issue –irresponsible people who are a minority.”

He emphasized that the problem was not one isolated issue.

“It’s everything together so you have to work on every piece of the pie: the sewage, the boats, the dogs,” Silva said.

Gagne said he and Massey would work on revising the town’s existing bylaws to present to the Select board at its Sept. 10 meeting. The plan is to put the bylaws on the article for Fall Town Meeting on Nov. 18.

Silva said, “It’s one of many things that we’re doing to try to keep Mattapoisett special and our water special.”