It’s a dog and cat fight at the top of the leader board for the 2016 Pet Photo Contest but feathers are flying.

Two feathered friends have ruffled their way to the top of the charts. A chicken with feathered feet is in fifth place and a Rhode Island Red is hot on its claws.

Voting in the Humane Society of Pike County’s 2016 Pet Photo Contest ends at 5 p.m. today. The website guru will pull the switch at that time and the contest will all be over except the counting and shouting.

Votes that are cast by mail and postmarked by 5 p.m. today will be counted in the final tally. An official winner will not be announced until the mail votes are in and official.

Donna Brockmann, Pet Photo Contest chair, said there is still plenty of time to get out and vote for your favorite pet and online votes will be counted down to the wire.

Voting may be done on line at www.pikehumane.org or on site at Troy Antiques, Guynn’s Tax and Bookkeeping Service and The Little Framery in Troy or Jinright’s Hillside Antiques on Highway 231 south of Troy. Votes may be mailed to the Humane Society of Pike County, 100 Dogwood Springs Rd, Troy, AL 36081 but must be postmarked by 5 p.m. today.

Brockmann said although Bandit, the best friend of Steve and Dale Stokes, seems to have a commanding lead, the Stokes shouldn’t count their chickens before they hatch.

Ella Weez Webb, the froofy feline of Mary Tyler Webb, is within easy scratching distance.

“Historically, some pet owners will hold their votes until the last minute so we could expect to have a flurry of votes today,” Brockmann said. “So, you just never know.”

Brockmann said the pet with the most votes at day’s end will be declared the winner of the 2016 Pet Photo Contest and will be featured on the cover of the 2016 Pet Photo Calendar, receive media attention, be asked to ride in parades and attend ribbon cuttings.

“The next top finishers will be the Pets of the Month and will be the lead photos for the 13 months,” Brockmann said. “So Pets of the Month are top spots and will be heavily contested.”

And, the two chickens, Copper and Katniss, are scratching to get those spots. The cats are clawing and the dogs are determined. It’s cats, canines and chickens so get out and vote, Brockmann said.

The Pet Photo Contest is a fundraiser that supports the efforts of the Humane Society of Pike County to reduce the number of abandoned and abused animals in Pike County through its spay/neuter and feral cat programs.

Donations count as votes so pick a pet and make a donation in its honor. It’s tax deductible and it’s a feel good thing to do.