In a seven month period between July 2020 and January 2021 Orange City Council rangers seized more than 600 dogs and euthanised 53.
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According to Council Communications Officer Allan Reeder, that number was comprised of 9 dogs that were formally assessed to be "dangerous" and 44 dogs that were "judged to be unsuitable for re-homing".
"To put that in context, in the same period, council rangers seized more than 600 dogs, mostly lost dogs or strays," Mr Reeder said.
"The majority of those dogs were later returned to their owners without needing to be taken to a council facility."
Mr Reeder added that the Council deals with pets under the NSW Government's Companion Animals Regulations which requires it to report euthanasia numbers each month.
"Again, most dogs that were taken to a council facility were later released to their owners," the Council spokesperson said.
"These figures point to the value of every dog being micro-chipped and owners keeping their online details up to date.
"This simple process makes re-uniting a lost dogs with its owner much more likely.
"More than fifty dogs were released to a re-homing agency.
"While the dogs are kept in a council facility, a behavioural assessment is completed by professional staff."
Orange residents are still awaiting the official opening of the city's $1.5m pound which was set back by construction delays.
While animals have been housed at the site for several months now and staff are working there, members of the public currently do not have access to the pound.
The facility was due to be open to the public in November 2020 but in December Mr Reeder told the Central Western Daily that date had been postponed until "sometime in 2021".
This was due to the pound still awaiting the construction of overnight drop-boxes: cages which would allow members of the public to safely leave dogs and cats after-hours.
Until the pound is fully operational, residents are urged to continue taking stray animals to Canboloas Family Vet Hospital during business hours.
Council rangers will only respond to call-outs after hours when there is a community safety issue, such as a dog attack, Mr Reeder said.
However, a stray dog is not "considered an emergency".
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