(a) 
The city enforcement agent shall utilize the authority granted by federal, state and local laws to lawfully seize and impound any animal if the investigating city enforcement agent or police officer has reason to believe that an animal has been or is being cruelly treated, pending a hearing before any justice of the peace or any municipal court judge on the issues of cruelty and disposition of the animal. Seizure of the subject animal prior to receiving a warrant is hereby authorized if such a delay endangers the life or well-being of the animal, or if it would unreasonably prolong the suffering of the animal needing immediate attention.
(b) 
Animals shall be cared for, treated, maintained, and transported in a humane manner and not in violation of any provision of law, including federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, and administrative rules.
(c) 
In addition, a person commits an offense if:
(1) 
A person other than a licensed veterinarian docks an animal’s tail or removes dew claws of a puppy over five (5) days of age, or crops an animal’s ears of any age;
(2) 
A person physically removes from its mother by selling, giving away, delivering, trading, or bartering any dog, cat, ferret, or rabbit less than six (6) weeks old or any other animal that is not yet weaned, except as advised by a licensed veterinarian;
(3) 
A person dyes or colors chicks, ducks or rabbits;
(4) 
A person sells, gives away, delivers, trades or barters chickens or ducks for the purposes of prizes or other satisfaction for participating in a carnival, circus, amusement or any and all other types of game;
(5) 
A person abandons or dumps any animal;
(6) 
A person who is in control of a motor vehicle that strikes a domestic animal fails to report the accident to the city animal services facility as soon as possible;
(7) 
A person overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, or overworks any animal;
(8) 
A person tortures, cruelly beats, mutilates, clubs, shoots or attempts to shoot with any air rifle, bow and arrow, slingshot, or firearm, or by any other means needlessly kills or injures any animal, wild or owned, within the limits of the city;
(9) 
A person carries or transports an animal in any vehicle or conveyance in a cruel, inhumane, or unsafe manner or fails to effectively restrain such animal so as to prevent the animal from leaving or being accidentally thrown from the vehicle during normal operation of the vehicle or fails to restrain the animal so as to prevent infliction of bodily harm to passersby;
(10) 
A person forces, allows, or permits any animal to remain in its own filth;
(11) 
A person keeps, shelters, or harbors any animal having a potentially life-threatening infestation of ticks, fleas, or other parasites, any other obvious life-threatening illness, or injury, or any other communicable illness transmissible to animal or human, without having sought and obtained proper treatment from a licensed veterinarian for such infestation or illness;
(12) 
A person causes an animal to fight another animal or person;
(13) 
A person fails to provide, at all times, his animal with adequate wholesome food and potable water, proper shelter and protection from inclement weather, and veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering;
(14) 
A person, firm or corporation shall raise or kill a dog or cat for the skin or fur;
(15) 
A person, firm or corporation shall mutilate any animal, whether such animal is dead or alive (medical or veterinary medical research, medical or veterinary medical necropsy, and biology class use of animals shall not be considered mutilation);
(16) 
A person, firm or corporation attaches a collar or harness to an animal that is of an inadequate size so that it restricts the animal’s growth or causes damage to the animal’s skin;
(17) 
A person shall engage or allow another to engage in any sexual act with an animal;
(18) 
A person allows a stray animal to remain on their property without notifying the city animal services facility of such fact within twenty-four (24) hours;
(19) 
A person who owns or is in control of an animal permits such animal to be at large within the city;
(20) 
A person breeds or causes to be bred any animal within the public view;
(21) 
A person creates, maintains, permits or causes a public nuisance, as defined in this chapter; or
(22) 
A person owns, keeps, harbors, or possesses horses, cattle, or other livestock in any manner that is a violation of this chapter.
(d) 
This section shall not be interpreted to restrict the extermination of rats, mice, insects, other vermin, or any such animal deemed a nuisance by state law, through the use of traps, poisons, or other commercially available means when used in accordance with the manufacturer’s directions as long as reasonable precautions are taken to ensure that no human, pet, or wild animal, other than the targeted species, comes into contact with the traps, poisons, or other means and that such use does not violate any other section of this chapter.
(e) 
This section shall not be interpreted to restrict rodeos, 4H Clubs, or FFA Club activities and operations.
(1983 Code, sec. 4-4; Ordinance 2006-O0025, sec. 1, adopted 3/8/2006; Ordinance 2009-O0101, sec. 1, adopted 10/20/2009; Ordinance 2013-O0008, sec. 1, adopted 2/14/2013)
(a) 
It shall be a violation of this chapter for any person to give away any live animal as a prize or as an inducement to enter any contest, game, raffle, or other competition or an inducement to enter a place of business or to offer such animal as an incentive to enter into any business agreement whereby the offer was for the purpose of attracting trade.
(b) 
This section shall not be interpreted to restrict any animal from being offered for sale at auction, provided that such sale does not otherwise violate any other section of this chapter.
(1983 Code, sec. 4-5; Ordinance 2006-O0025, sec. 1, adopted 3/8/2006; Ordinance 2013-O0008, sec. 1, adopted 2/14/2013)
A person having charge or custody of an animal shall not place or confine such animal or allow such animal to be placed or confined in a motor vehicle or trailer under such conditions or for such a period of time as may endanger the health of the animal due to heat, lack of food or water, or such other circumstances as may cause injury or death of the animal. City enforcement agents finding an animal being held in violation of this provision may cite the owner for violating this section, obtain a search warrant pursuant to state or federal law, and/or use reasonable force to remove an animal from a vehicle whenever it appears the animal’s health or safety is, or soon will be, endangered, and said neglected or endangered animal shall be impounded and held pending a hearing. It shall be the responsibility of the animal’s owner to repair any damage caused by the removal of the animal from the dangerous situation by the city enforcement agent or peace officer.
(1983 Code, sec. 4-6; Ordinance 2006-O0025, sec. 1, adopted 3/8/2006; Ordinance 2013-O0008, sec. 1, adopted 2/14/2013)
It shall be unlawful for any person to tie or tether a dog or other animal to a stationary object for a period of time or in a location so as to create an unhealthy situation for the animal or a potentially dangerous situation for a pedestrian as determined by the city enforcement agent. The terms “unhealthy situation” and “potentially dangerous situation” shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) 
To tether any animal in such a manner as to permit the animal access upon any public right-of-way;
(2) 
To tether any animal in such a manner as to cause the animal injury or pain or not to permit the animal to reach shelter, food and/or water or otherwise create an unsafe or unhealthy situation;
(3) 
To tether any animal in such a manner as to permit the animal to leave the owner’s property;
(4) 
To tether any animal in an area that is not properly fenced so as to prevent any person or child from entering the area occupied by said animal;
(5) 
To tether any pet animal in a manner whereby the animal is subject to harassment, stings or bites from outdoor insects, or attacks by other animals;
(6) 
To tether any pet animal with a tether that is less than ten (10) feet in length;
(7) 
To tether any animal with a tether that is not equipped with swivel ends;
(8) 
To tether any animal in such a manner that does not prevent the animal from becoming entangled with any obstruction, from partially or totally jumping any fence, or from leaving part of its owner’s property;
(9) 
To fail to remove waste from the tethered area on a daily basis;
(10) 
To tether any animal without using a properly fitted collar or harness;
(11) 
To use choke-type collars to tether any animal; or
(12) 
To use a tether that weighs more than one-fifth (1/5) of the animal’s body weight.
(13) 
Any other act of tethering that is not in compliance with the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) chapter 821, subchapter D, unlawful restraint of dog, section 821.076 and 821.077.
(1983 Code, sec. 4-7; Ordinance 2006-O0025, sec. 1, adopted 3/8/2006; Ordinance 2013-O0008, sec. 1, adopted 2/14/2013)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to place or place and bait or to permit the placing or placing and baiting of any trap designed for trapping animals in any highway, street, alley or other public place within the corporate limits of the city unless specific permission by animal services has been granted. However, nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a city enforcement agent from placing such traps on public or private property as may be necessary to capture animals running at large.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to remove, alter, damage, or otherwise tamper with a trap or equipment belonging to or set out by the city enforcement agent.
(c) 
Residents of the city wishing to trap unwanted animals on personal private property may do so with the use of humane cage traps. Traps may be obtained from animal services. Any trapping program must have prior written approval of the land manager or owner, and written notification of activities to animal services.
(d) 
Any traps mentioned in this section found upon public property are hereby declared to be abandoned traps, and any city enforcement officer is hereby authorized and directed to impound any such trap and process the same as abandoned property in accordance with the applicable provisions of this code.
(e) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to place or place and bait or to permit the placing or placing and baiting of any steel-jawed trap (commonly known as a bear trap, wolf trap, leg hold trap, or coyote trap) within the corporate limits of the city.
(f) 
No person shall place any substance or article that has in any manner been treated with any poisonous substance in any place accessible to human beings, birds, dogs, cats or other animals with the intent to kill or harm animals. This shall include antifreeze purposely left exposed to poison animals. This subsection, however, does not preclude the use of commercially sold poisons when applied in accordance with the manufacturer’s directions for such use, in that person’s residence, accessory structure or commercial establishment, provided that such use does not violate any other section of this chapter.
(1983 Code, sec. 4-39; Ordinance 2006-O0025, sec. 1, adopted 3/8/2006; Ordinance 2013-O0008, sec. 1, adopted 2/14/2013)