WELLS, Maine — As part of her regular patrol, Wells' Animal Control Officer Caitlin Lipert walks the beach.
She checks to see if any lobster traps washed up on shore and how dogs are behaving on the beach.
Lately though she's seen something else.
"Quite a few bags of poop," Lipert said.
Dog poop. Green bags, the town provides for free, left along the beach.
"I actually picked up four or five of them on the beach, full bags. That's a lot of poop."
It's the dog poop Lipert is trying to keep out of the ocean.
"We really want to reduce how much plastic poop bags are getting into our ocean, on top of the methane, when it builds up in the ocean it can affect marine life," Lipert said.
Bob Corduck, who often walks his dog Ollie on Wells Beach, says pet owners need to be more responsible.
"I don't know why they would do that, it's ridiculous, there's trash containers to throw it in when they're done," Corduck said.
Disposing of your poop bags in a trash can is not only good for the environment but also your pocketbook.
Lipert said, "There is a town ordinance that states when you pick up your dog's poop it must be disposed of in a trash can. If you're caught it can be up to a $250 fine."