The purpose of this chapter is to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the public. See generally Texas Health and Safety Code chapters 822 and 826.
(Ordinance 20-108, sec. 2.01, adopted 6/15/2020)
As used in this chapter, the following terms are defined as follows:
At large
means and includes off the premises of the owner and not under the control of the owner or by a person or persons authorized by the owner to care for said dog or cat by either cord, leash or chain.
Cat
means both male and female feline animals.
Dog
means both male and female canine animals.
Enclosure
means a house or a building; or a fence, pen or other substantial structure at least six (6) feet in height with minimum dimensions of five (5) feet by ten (10) feet that forms an enclosure suitable to prevent entry by young children and is locked and secured at all times such that an animal cannot climb, dig, jump, or otherwise escape of its own volition.
Fowl
means and includes chickens, turkeys, guineas, ducks, pigeons, peacocks, emus, and other similar birds.
Livestock
for the purposes of this chapter shall be defined to include the following domestic animals:
(1) 
Horses;
(2) 
Goats;
(3) 
Sheep;
(4) 
Cattle;
(5) 
Pigs;
(6) 
Donkeys;
(7) 
Jackasses.
Owner
means any person(s), firm, association or group, unincorporated or not, owning, keeping or harboring a dog, cat, livestock or fowl. A dog, cat, livestock, or fowl shall be deemed to be harbored if it is fed, sheltered, allowed, or permitted to remain on a person's property or property under the control of said person for three (3) or more days.
Public nuisance
means a condition which injures or endangers the public health, safety, and welfare, gives offense to the senses, gives material annoyance, inconvenience, or discomfort to a person of ordinary sensibilities, or interferes with the reasonable use and enjoyment of public or private property.
Wild animal
means any live animal, other than a common domestic species, that is protected by international, federal or state regulations, including those listed in section 822.101 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, and the following if not so listed:
(1) 
All poisonous animals including rear-fang snakes;
(2) 
Apes (Pongidae), chimpanzees (Pan), gibbons (Hylobates), gorillas (Gorilla), orangutans (Pongo), and siamangs (Symphalangus);
(3) 
Baboons (Papio; Mandrillus);
(4) 
Bears (Ursidae);
(5) 
Bison (Bison);
(6) 
Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus);
(7) 
Crocodilians (Crocodylus), thirty (30) inches in length or more;
(8) 
Constrictor snakes, five (5) feet in length or more;
(9) 
Coyotes (Canis latrans);
(10) 
Deer (Cervidae) including white-tailed deer, elk, antelope or moose;
(11) 
Elephants (Elephantidae);
(12) 
Gamecocks and other fighting birds;
(13) 
Hippopotami (Hippopotamidae);
(14) 
Hyenas (Hyaenidae);
(15) 
Jaguars (Panthera (Felis) onca), leopards (Panthera (Felis) pardus), lions (Panthera (Felis) leo) or tigers (Panthera (Felis) tigris);
(16) 
Lynxes (Lynx);
(17) 
Monkeys, old world (Cercopithecidae);
(18) 
Ostriches (Struthio), but not including emus (Dromiceius novaehollandiae);
(19) 
Piranha fish (Characidae);
(20) 
Pumus (Felis concolor), also known as cougars, mountain lions or panthers;
(21) 
Rhinoceroses (Rhinocerotidae);
(22) 
Sharks (class Chondrichthyes);
(23) 
Wolves (Canis lupus);
(24) 
Ocelots;
(25) 
Bobcats;
(26) 
Servals;
(27) 
Caracals;
(28) 
Jackals; or
(29) 
Any hybrid of any animal listed.
(Ordinance 20-108, sec. 2.02, adopted 6/15/2020)
(a) 
Notice of violation.
Should the mayor, or any person designated by him or her, determine that a violation of this chapter has occurred, he or she may cause notice to be given as practicable, to either the owner of the animal(s) or fowl causing the violation of this chapter or to the owner of the premises where the animal(s) or fowl are kept. Such notice may identify the condition that constitutes the violation, and direct the owner or keeper of the animal(s) or fowl to take such action as is reasonable, appropriate, and necessary to correct the violation. Such notice may be delivered personally in writing to the owner or keeper, or by letter addressed to the owner or keeper at his or her post office address.
(b) 
Fees.
Animal charges and fees are in the amount adopted by the city council from time to time.
(c) 
Penalty.
(1) 
If the owner or keeper fails or refuses to correct or remedy the violation within two (2) days following notice as provided in subsection (a) above, the mayor, or any person designated by him or her, may institute proceedings in municipal court against the owner or keeper for violation of the provisions of this chapter.
(2) 
Any person violating any provision of this chapter, excluding article 3.03, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined in an amount not less than twenty dollars ($20.00) and no more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense. Unless otherwise specifically stated within the provisions of this chapter, any violation of this chapter shall require a culpable mental state of intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence.
(3) 
Any person violating any provision of article 3.03 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than four hundred dollars ($400.00) and no more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).
(4) 
Provided, further, that it shall be a defense to prosecution under section 3.05.001 that the offense occurred within ninety (90) days of the date of the adoption of the ordinance.
(Ordinance 20-108, sec. 2.20, adopted 6/15/2020; Ordinance adopting 2022 Code)
(a) 
Failure to exercise proper care prohibited.
It is unlawful for any owner to fail to exercise proper care and control over any animal owned or in the custody of such owner, or to fail to exercise proper care and control over the premises where any such animal is kept, so as to prevent such animals, or the conditions of such premises, from becoming a public nuisance.
(b) 
Conditions constituting nuisance.
All of the following conditions, situations or occurrences are hereby declared to be a public nuisance and constitute a failure of the owner to exercise proper care and control of his animal and/or the premises where said animal is or has been kept:
(1) 
Any animal which turns over garbage containers or scatters garbage or which otherwise damages private or public property;
(2) 
Any dog, cat or livestock at large;
(3) 
Any animal that barks, whines, howls, crows, or makes other sounds or noise in an excessive, continuous, or untimely fashion; or
(4) 
Any building, room, cage, kennel, yard, run, stable, shed, pen, fenced pasture, or any other place or facility where animals are kept or harbored which is not maintained in a clean and sanitary condition so as to prevent obnoxious odors, the attraction, breeding or potential breeding of flies, the attraction, harboring or breeding of rodents or potential breeding of rodents, or the creation of any other public health nuisances.
(c) 
Running at large.
(1) 
A person commits an offense if the person allows or permits an animal owned by him/her to run at large. A culpable mental state is not required as an element of this offense.
(2) 
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution if the animal was running at large due to the act of some person other than the owner of the animal or an occupant of the premises where such animal is possessed, or due to some factor not reasonably foreseeable by the owner or person having possession of said animal.
(3) 
Animals running at large are subject to impoundment by an officer of the animal control department. It shall be the duty of every animal control officer to apprehend any animal found running at large and to impound such animal found running at large and to impound such animal at the city animal shelter.
(d) 
Wild animals prohibited.
(1) 
A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly keeps or has in his/her possession or under his/her control, within the city, any wild animal.
(2) 
It is a defense to prosecution under this subsection that the owner or possessor is a governmental entity, operates a zoo that is open to the public, is a research institution, or owns or operates an animal exhibition, rodeo, or circus in which the animal is an integral part, if the animal is restrained from inflicting injury upon persons, property or other animals, and adequate provision is made for the care and protection of the animal.
(Ordinance 20-108, sec. 2.03, adopted 6/15/2020; Ordinance adopting 2022 Code)
(a) 
Sale of baby fowl.
Chickens or ducklings younger than eight (8) weeks of age may not be sold in quantities less than ten (10) to a single purchaser except if the animals are sold as part of a sanctioned FFA or 4H project.
(b) 
Dumping animals.
It is unlawful for any person to intentionally release or dump a dog or cat, and to abandon the same, within the corporate limits of the city.
(c) 
Leaving animal in parked vehicle.
No person shall leave any animal in any standing or parked vehicle.
(Ordinance 20-108, sec. 2.12, adopted 6/15/2020)