It is the intention of this article to provide a means of dealing with an animal that is dangerous or, by its conduct, has indicated that it may represent a danger in the future. In interpreting the definitions contained in this article and in implementing its provisions, the animal control officer shall recognize the right of a person to use an animal as a protector or as a guard; however, the animal control officer shall also take into consideration the right of a neighborhood to be free from fear that an animal may leave the premises of its owner or keeper and attack and injure a person or other domestic animal. It is also the intention of this article to provide public safety regarding dangerous wild animals and other potentially dangerous nondomestic animals, as well as providing avenues for permitting the safe exhibition of certain animals for public entertainment.
(Ordinance 04-01-12 (12), ex. A (2.401), adopted 2/9/04)
(a) 
A dangerous animal shall be defined as an animal which:
(1) 
Has inflicted injury on a human being without provocation on public or private property;
(2) 
Has killed or severely injured a domestic animal without provocation while off the owner’s property;
(3) 
Is trained or harbored for fighting, which may be determined based on whether the animal exhibits behavior and/or bears physical scars or injuries which indicate that the animal has been trained or used for the purpose of fighting;
(4) 
Is a warm-blooded mammal which is known to carry or be susceptible to the rabies virus and which cannot be effectively vaccinated against that virus with any vaccine approved by the department of state health services;
(5) 
Is a hybrid animal or any pet wildlife which has attacked a human or which is apprehended or observed unrestrained; or
(6) 
Is a venomous or carnivorous fish or reptile or any fish or reptile that grows over three feet in length.
(b) 
If an animal acts as stated in subsection (a) of this section, the animal control officer shall impound the animal immediately if it is at large, or, if it is in the possession of some person, the animal control officer may issue a notice requiring that the animal be taken to a designated location for impoundment. The form of such notice shall be provided for by policy. An animal which is impounded shall not be released until a final determination is made on the disposition of the animal.
(c) 
Notice shall be given to the owner that the animal control officer has determined that the animal is a dangerous animal. This notice shall also set out the remedial requirements which the owner must comply with. This notice shall be given to the owner by personal service or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The owner shall have five working days from receipt of the notice to file a letter with the chief of police stating that (s)he shall comply with the remedial requirements as stated in the notice or that (s)he disagrees with the determination that the animal is dangerous or the remedial requirements and that (s)he requests a hearing before the chief of police or designee. Such hearing shall be conducted as provided for nuisance animals in this chapter.
(d) 
If the owner of a dangerous animal cannot be determined after reasonable efforts to do so and after holding the animal for 72 hours, the animal may be disposed of in a humane manner. If the owner of a dangerous animal which has been impounded cannot be located for the delivery service of the notice required herein either in person or by mail, the animal may be disposed of in a humane manner after all reasonable effort has been made to locate such owner.
(e) 
If the animal’s behavior creates a more dangerous situation even though the owner is complying with the remedial requirements, the chief of police or designee may again review the situation and prescribe additional or different remedial requirements.
(Ordinance 04-01-12 (12), ex. A (2.402), adopted 2/9/04)
(a) 
If the animal control officer believes that an animal has exhibited behavior indicating that it represents a potential danger, the animal control officer may initiate an investigation to determine whether or not the animal is potentially dangerous.
(b) 
An animal may be defined as “potentially dangerous” if it has engaged in the following conduct:
(1) 
When unprovoked, chases or approaches a person upon the streets, sidewalks or any public or private property in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack; or
(2) 
Has a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked, to cause injury or to otherwise threaten the safety of human beings or domestic animals.
(c) 
If upon investigation the animal control officer determines that the animal is indeed a potentially dangerous animal, remedial requirements may be prescribed subject to the same processes, including appeals, addressed under this chapter for dangerous animals.
(d) 
If an animal’s behavior creates a more dangerous situation even though the owner is complying with the remedial requirements, the officer or chief, depending upon previous action, may again review the situation and prescribe additional or different remedial requirements.
(Ordinance 04-01-12 (12), ex. A (2.403), adopted 2/9/04)
(a) 
No animal may be declared dangerous or potentially dangerous:
(1) 
If the threat, injury or damage was sustained by a person who at the time:
(A) 
Was committing a willful trespass or other tort upon the premises occupied by the owner of the animal;
(B) 
Was tormenting, abusing or assaulting the animal or has in the past been observed or reported to have tormented, abused or assaulted the animal and the animal was not at large at the time of the offense; or
(C) 
Was committing or attempting to commit a crime;
(2) 
If the dog was protecting or defending a person while in that person’s control from an unjustified attack or assault; or
(3) 
If the dog was injured and responding to pain.
(b) 
The provisions of this article shall not apply to animals under the control of a governmental law enforcement, correctional, or military agency.
(c) 
The provisions of this article shall not apply to a dog whose conduct has brought it within the coverage of the V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code chapter 822, to the extent that said chapter preempts local regulation of the dog’s conduct.
(Ordinance 04-01-12 (12), ex. A (2.404), adopted 2/9/04)
No person shall keep, or permit to be kept, on his premises any wild or dangerous animal for display or for exhibition purposes, whether gratuitously or for a fee. This section shall not be construed so as to apply to a zoo or circus, as defined in section 2.01.001.
(Ordinance 04-01-12 (12), ex. A (2.422), adopted 2/9/04)
No person may possess a prohibited animal within the city limits. Such prohibited animals shall include, but are not limited to, all animals prohibited by state or federal law, and shall include, but are not limited to, the following animals or any hybrid of these animals or such other class of animals as may be determined to be dangerous by animal control officer, or any other dangerous animal which may be added in the future to the list as a high risk animal in the Texas Rabies Control Act, as amended:
(1) 
Class Mammalia: Family Canidae (such as wolves, coyotes and foxes), except domesticated dogs and hybrids involving same; family Mustelidae (such as weasels, martins, fishers, skunks, wolverines, mink and badgers), except ferrets; family Procyonidae (such as raccoons); family Ursidae (such as bears); and order Chiroptera (such as bats).
(2) 
Poisonous reptiles, cobras and their allies (Elapidae, Hydrophiidae); vipers and their allies (Crotiladae, Viperidae); Boonslang and Kirtland’s tree snakes; Gila monsters (Helodermatidae); and crocodiles, alligators and their allies (order Loricata) and nonvenomous reptiles over three feet in length.
(3) 
Brown recluse (Loxosceles) and black widow (Lactrodectus) spiders.
(Ordinance 04-01-12 (12), ex. A (2.423), adopted 2/9/04)
The animals specified in this section as dangerous wild animals shall be deemed as contraband, and no person may possess any individual species and/or subspecies of the following dangerous wild animals: Order Carnivora, family Felidae (such as lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards and cougars, ocelots, lynx, bobcats, cheetahs, and jaguars), hyenas, bears, lesser pandas, ferrets from natural habitats, order Primata (such as monkeys, chimpanzees, and apes). No person may possess any individual species of the following animals: antelope, binturong, miniature pigs, elephants, Vietnamese potbelly pigs, or such other nondomestic species of animal not common to this area.
(Ordinance 04-01-12 (12), ex. A (2.424), adopted 2/9/04)
(a) 
All dogs which are trained by a certified professional and kept solely for the protection of persons and property, residential, commercial or personal, shall obtain a permit from the animal control officer. The fee for this permit shall be according to the fee schedule set forth in appendix A of this code. The area or premises in which such dog is confined shall be conspicuously posted with warning signs bearing letters not less than two inches high, stating “Guard Dog On Premises.”
(b) 
The area or premises shall be subject to inspection by the animal control officer to determine that the animal in question is maintained and secured at all times in such a manner so as to prevent its coming in contact with the public.
(c) 
This section does not apply to dogs used by federal, state, county, or municipal law enforcement agencies or correctional institutions.
(Ordinance 04-01-12 (12), ex. A (2.425), adopted 2/9/04)