The 2017 Pet Photos Contest is not over until the winner howls.

Which pet will howl last and loudest is yet to be known, said Donna Brockmann, chair of the Humane Society of Pike County’s annual Pet Photo Contest.

Voting officially ended at 5 p.m. Saturday and, at that time, online voting closed with Kitz the cat in the lead with 821 votes but with two dogs nipping at her heels.

“Only seven votes separated Kim Lester’s Kitz from Breanna Barron’s Buster,” Brockmann said. “But Carol Ellis’ Bama was in third place with 805 votes.”

Those three far outdistance all other entries but first place is still up for grabs until all the votes are in and counted.

There were four voting sites, Guynn’s Tax and Bookkeeping Service, The Little Framery and Troy Antiques in Troy and Hillside Antiques on Highway 231. Voting at those sites also closed at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Brockmann checked the voting sites Monday and those votes were entered on the Humane Society of Pike County’s website Monday night.

Those totals are also tenuous.

“Any votes that were cast by mail and postmarked by 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 20 will be counted,” Brockmann said. “If someone mailed votes from California, or ever somewhere much closer, we might not get the letter until Thursday or Friday. So, to be fair to everyone, the vote count will not be final and official until Friday.”

Brockman expressed appreciation to all who entered their pets in the annual photo contest and to the many who voted.

“The focus of the Humane Society of Pike County is on reducing the number of unwanted animals by encouraging spaying and neutering family pets,” Brockmann said. “We have a feral cat program and also a Family in Need program that assists families, who because of unforeseen circumstances, are having difficulty in caring for their animals.”

Brockmann said the humane society also assists local animal rescue groups and is a partner in the Pike Animal Shelter project.

The humane society meets at 6 p.m. the second Monday of each month at Troy Bank & Trust, next to Lowes. All are welcome.