The Mudgee Guardian spoke with Mid-Western Regional Council's Senior Law Enforcement Officer for Council/Ranger, Kieren Norris to answer these questions.

The main thing to remember in this situation is to stay safe. If you feel comfortable approaching the dog, here is what you can do:

"Under legislation, all dogs should have a collar and tag to be identified," Mr Norris said.

"I treat dogs like they have the potential to bite, not saying that they will but if you go into it thinking it will, you'll be a lot safer.

"Council does not attend for strays after hours and the reason for that is a dog can travel a great distance in a very short period of time, so the cost to send a ranger to look for a dog that they are more than likely not going to find is quite great.

Often social media is helpful when reuniting a pup with it's family, but if you wish to report an incident, the most efficient way to do so is by calling Council.

"If they want to alert Council, they should call or email. We have a lot of problems with people putting things on social media and thinking that that somehow alerts Council to the problem, it doesn't," Mr Norris said.

"If it's an issue and they want Council to deal with it, they need to call Council and make them aware of whatever their particular issue is and then we will look into it and investigate."

There's only so much an owner can do to prevent a pet from breaking free from the yard, but if you find your beloved pet has escaped, here's what to do:

"A lot of the time, animals will get dropped with the vets so check with them or ring Council and say that you have lost your animal," Mr Norris said.

"A lot of what we deal with, unfortunately, is not microchipped. It is under legislation that all animals must be microchipped at the age of 12 weeks and that helps us greatly reunite people with that animal," Mr Norris said.

Both cats and dogs must be registered at six months.

Permits:

"If you look at it like a license plate on the vehicle, the microchip just identifies that animal as the animal, and has all the owner's details on it, and registration is just like registration on a vehicle, but the difference is it's one off payment and then it's registered for life," Mr Norris said.

If you're walking in a public place anywhere in New South Wales you must have your dog on a lead at all times otherwise it's a $330 fine.

If your dog defecates in public,it is a $275 fine.

"We've got plastic pick up bags attached to lots of garbage bins all over town so if you get stuck there is always an option. We're one of the only Councils who supply them," Mr Norris said.

"If you get caught, there's no excuse and a fine will be issued on the spot.

"I don't know of anyone that likes standing in dog feces."

"Rangers are happy if anyone's got any questions, they're more than welcome to give us a call. We'll discuss whatever their concerns are with them," Mr Norris said.

"Our primary thing is to educate people on what their responsibilities are because if you own an animal, you do have a responsibility for that.

"We are happy to discuss or answer any questions for anybody at any time.

"If anyone does have any issues in the community with dogs, please report it to council straightaway."

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