Pam,

I think the time might vary from city to city, but I know that
"owner turn in's" are the first to be pts. By law most city shelters
must keep an animal for a certain number of days for owners to
show up and claim them.

It's not fair at all. I'm convinced the people who turn in a
family pet don't think two minutes about what will happen to
the animal. If they think at all, it's to convince themselves that
someone else might adopt the hopelessly confused & scared pet.