Contacting Horsham Rural City Council remains the best way to have lost pets safely returned to their owners.
People who find a dog or cat out wandering should contact Council on 53 82 9777. If the dog or cat has no immediate identification, a ranger can check it for a microchip, and if it is microchipped, will be able to make contact with the owner.
This will improve the chances of the animal not being impounded and assist with a speedy and safe return to the owner.
"If your dog or cat is registered with Council, we can easily identify the animal owner and in most instances return them safely to you," Community Safety Unit Co-Ordinator Jason Brady said.
HAPPY ENDING: Council recently returned a Jack Russell safely and promptly to its grateful owner.
"If it's a pet's first-time at large, then there's no fee for its safe return."
Mr Brady said people who deliberately avoided involving Council when an animal was lost were actually doing more harm than good.
"When someone holds a wandering animal at their premises and posts it on Facebook they are actually doing a disservice to the pet and its owners," he said.
"In most cases, the owner will be out looking for the animal in public areas and may have already reported it missing to Council. Therefore not involving Council actually means the animal spends longer away from its owner and prolongs the period of stress and anxiety that it feels."
Mr Brady said the percentage of dogs and cats that were returned to their owners or re-housed had increased considerably in recent years.
This is because the vast majority of animals are now microchipped.
Registering, microchipping and having identification tags on a pet's collar gives people the highest probability that their lost pets will be returned.
"All of our officers are actually animal lovers and they play an active role in making sure that lost dogs and cats make it home safely," Mr Brady said.
"We also work hard along with rescue shelter partners Phoenix Animal Rescue and Horsham PAWS to find new homes for dogs and cats that are unregistered or whose owners cannot be found."
