When Jeff Ponte answers the phone, it could be a friend on the other line or someone asking him to quiet Selectman Brad Morse’s barking dogs.

Ponte’s home phone number was incorrectly listed as the contact for Rochester Animal Control in the latest edition of the Blue Book, the tri-town version of the Yellow Pages.

On Monday night, Ponte sought a solution at the Rochester Selectmen’s regularly scheduled meeting.

Select board Chair Naida Parker apologized to Ponte for the “great deal of inconvenience and aggravation” caused by the mistake.

“I wouldn’t say a great deal of aggravation,” Ponte responded, adding since the phone book was distributed on July 1 he’s received a total of seven calls and an unconfirmed number of hang-ups.

Though, the last call he received was in fact someone complaining about Morse’s dogs.

Published by the League of Women Voters, the Blue Book contains phone numbers submitted by residents, businesses, and local governments. This year, post cards were mailed to private residents seeking their home numbers. In the past, the league relied on numbers obtained from Verizon, explained Blue Book editor Nancy Braitmayer.

But the phone company’s records were incomplete. Braitmayer said many residents called to ask why they were excluded from the book, which prompted the change.

She guessed a handwritten number might have been incorrectly entered into the database of phone numbers. The league has apologized to Ponte and made the correction on the book’s website, she said.

Generally, business phone numbers are verified before publication. Municipal numbers were not, but the mistake prompted Braitmayer to say that policy will be changed.

“This has been a learning experience for us,” she said.

Chief dispatcher Tracy Eldridge said it was important that the public be made aware of the correct number.

“We do have a large amount of calls coming into animal control,” she said.

Town Administrator Richard LaCamera suggested that the right number be included in mailings sent to residents seeking dog license renewals. Broadcasting the number on a banner on the town’s website was also suggested.

Anyone seeking to contact Rochester Animal Control should call 508-763-5112.