DeKALB — The DeKalb Police Department’s Facebook page features images of lost pets and tries to reunite owners with their pets before sending the dog to animal control.

Despite the department’s best effort to locate the owners, some of the animals never make it home.

When a police officer finds a stray dog on the streets, the first thing they do is look for a rabies tag, a collar or microchip to find information about the owner, said Greg Maurice, DeKalb County director of the Health Protection Division.

Maurice said if the dog owner is not found in a reasonable time after arriving at animal control, the dogs are transferred to Malta Veterinary Hospital, 3921 Route 38, where they are held for seven days before being sent to a local animal shelter.

Michelle Groeper, executive director of Tails Humane Society, 2250 Barber Greene Road, said animal control is an unlimited admission facility where they cannot legally turn away any animals that are brought to them. After reaching their holding limit and trying to find other means to accommodate the dogs, they at times do have to euthanize the animal.

Maurice said an efficient way for owners to reduce the risk of losing their pet is to update the animal’s rabies tags. The rabies tagging, which costs $19 a year, is a system that can be accessed by animal control and police to determine the dog owner’s contact information.

Once the animal arrives at the Malta Veterinary Hospital, the clock starts ticking. If the animal isn’t claimed within the seven days after they arrive at the hospital, they are considered abandoned, and the owner’s rights are forfeited, Maurice said.

The pooch is then sent to local humane shelters like Genoa’s Barn on Baseline Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, 16173 Baseline Road, Genoa, or Tails Humane Society.

Groeper said her organization is DeKalb County’s primary animal shelter for stray and lost pets with a staff and volunteers who make the extra effort for the animals.

“We do adoptions, we have a volunteer team, we have someone who does events and fundraising developments, we have programs for the public and staff for animal care.”

Groeper said if a owner comes to claim a dog that is already up for adoption, even with proof of ownership, usually they still have the owner adopt the animal again if the animal has been with the facility awhile.

Roberta Shoaf, executive director of Genoa’s Barn on Baseline, a nonprofit and limited animal shelter, said the organization took in about 443 dogs and cats in 2017. Of the animals to arrive at her shelter, 153 were stray dogs.

“We definitely are always trying to reunite the dog with their owner, I know sometimes people have misconceptions that animal control just brings the dog in and that’s it. No, that’s not the case; if we find a stray, we will always try to reunite it with the owner before we have to take it in to Malta,” Maurice said.