The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
means to mistreat through intent to abuse or reckless neglect of any animal in a manner that causes or is likely to cause stress or physical injury or as otherwise stated in this chapter.
means any living creature other than a Homo sapiens. Unless indicated otherwise, the term shall include livestock, fowl, reptiles, amphibians, and wildlife, as well as dogs, cats and other creatures commonly owned as pets. The term shall exclude a fish and other small aquarium-maintained creatures, not herein prohibited or restricted, where the owner only maintains no more than three aquariums having a total capacity of ninety gallons.
means the officer or office of the city primarily responsible for the enforcement of regulations regarding animals, including the officers of the police department.
means a facility designated by the city council to be used for the impoundment of animals taken up by the animal control officers.
means the local rabies control authority as defined in this section [sic].
means a mark made on the skin of any animal which indicates the ownership of the animal, typically used with livestock.
means the male and the female of any domesticated member of the feline species of animals.
means a workday and shall exclude Saturday, Sunday and city holidays.
where a minimum setback or distance between any enclosure for an animal from a residence is required, means the most direct line distance between the two structures, unless otherwise provided.
means the male and the female of any domesticated member of the canine species of animal.
means any animal whose physiology has been determined or manipulated through selective breeding and does not occur naturally in the wild, any animal which can be vaccinated against rabies with an approved rabies vaccine, and any animal which has an established rabies quarantine observation period.
means any stray horse, stallion, mare, gelding, filly, colt, mule, jenny, jack, jennet, hog, sheep, goat, confined and domesticated hares and rabbits, or any species of cattle.
means any animal or reptile, fish, or bird, born or whose natural habitat is considered to be outside the continental United States, including nonvenomous reptiles and fish.
means any of the cold-blooded animals that extract oxygen from water through the use of gills.
includes all birds, e.g., chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, guineas, geese, ducks, peafowl and other domestic feathered creatures and nondomestic feathered creatures, regardless of age or sex.
means an agency or political subdivision of the state or an agency or department of the federal government.
means the act of keeping and caring for an animal or of providing premises to which the animal returns for food, shelter or care for a period of three days or longer.
includes, regardless of age, sex or breed, horses and all equine species, including mules, donkeys and jackasses; cows and all bovine species; sheep and all ovine species; llamas; goats and all caprine species; and pigs and all swine species.
means a person who keeps or harbors more than five cats or dogs or any combination of five cats and dogs. Puppies and kittens under four months of age shall not be counted for purposes of this definition.
means the municipal court for the city.
means any animal, male or female, rendered incapable of breeding or being bred, i.e., castration in the male and spaying or ovariectomy in the female.
means any dog which:
means any person who has purchased or who owns, keeps, maintains, harbors or has care, custody or control of one or more animals. Ownership may be determined by identifying an adult resident of the premises upon which the animal is kept, maintained, harbored or otherwise resides and such adult shall constitute the owner of the animal upon such premises. Each actual resident of the premises shall be the owner or presumed owner and charged with responsibility for the animals thereon maintained or harbored.
means and includes an individual human, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, limited liability partnership or other partnership or other such company, joint venture, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity, association or corporation or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents or assigns. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, and the singular shall include the plural where indicated by the context.
means a substance having an inherent harmful property which renders it, when taken into the system, capable of destroying animal life.
means a definite portion of a legal lot of real estate or land, together with any appurtenances or buildings.
means a house or a building, or in the case of a fence or structure/pen, the fence or structure/pen must be at least four feet in height. The structure/pen must also have minimum dimensions of five feet by ten feet. The fence or structure/pen must form an enclosure suitable to prevent entry of young children and must be locked and secured such that an animal cannot climb, dig, jump or otherwise escape of its own volition. The enclosure shall be securely locked at all times and have secured sides to prevent a dangerous animal or registered dangerous dog from escaping from the enclosure. The structure/pen shall provide protection from the elements for the animal. The animal control officer may require a fence higher than four feet or require a secure top and/or a secure bottom to the structure/pen if the need is demonstrated.
means the vaccination of a dog, cat or other domestic animal with an anti-rabies vaccine approved by the department of state health services and administered by a veterinarian licensed by the state.
means any dog registered with the city in compliance with chapter 822, Texas Health and Safety Code, subchapter D, and with the sections of this chapter addressing registered dangerous dogs.
means any place of human habitation at any time, day or night, including, but not limited to, any single- or multi-family dwelling, church, school, convalescent center or nursing home.
means any animal secured by a leash, rope or chain of some sort or confined through fencing or otherwise within the property limits of its owner.
means any individual species and/or subspecies of the following animals: antelope, lions, tigers, ocelots, cougars, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, hyenas, bears, lesser pandas, ferrets born in natural habitats, binturong, ostriches, emus, miniature pigs, Vietnamese potbelly pigs, apes, or such other nondomestic species of animal not common to this area.
On-premises:
Any animal, except pet cats, not confined to the premises of the owner by a substantial fence of sufficient strength and height to prevent the animal from escaping therefrom, or secured on the premises by a chain or leash sufficient in strength to prevent the animal from escaping from the premises and so arranged that the animal will remain upon the premises when the leash is stretched to full length;
An animal intruding upon the property of another person other than the owner’s shall be termed “at large”;
Any animal within a vehicle in a manner that would prevent that animal’s escape or contact with other persons or animals shall not be deemed “at large.”
means bodily injury resulting from severe attack or severe bite from an animal which produces severe pain, trauma, or loss of blood or tissue, and which requires medical treatment of wounds inflicted by the animal.
means an attack in which the animal repeatedly bites or vigorously shakes its victim, and the victim, or a person intervening, has extreme difficulty terminating the attack.
means a puncture or laceration made by an animal’s teeth which breaks the skin, resulting in a degree of trauma which would cause most prudent and reasonable people to seek medical care for treatment to the wound, without considerations of rabies prevention alone.
(including estray) means any animal, of which there is no identifiable owner or harborer, which is found to be at large within the corporate limits of the city.
means a vaccination tag attached to a collar as required by this chapter or some other permanent identifying device attached to a collar or to an animal.
means a permanent mark which is made on the skin of an animal by puncturing the skin and inserting indelible color, and which is used to show ownership.
means that the animal was not hit, kicked, teased, molested or struck by a person with an object or part of a person’s body, nor was any part of the animal’s body pulled, pinched or squeezed by a person.
means an injection of a rabies vaccine which is approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Veterinary Biologics Division, [and] state veterinarian, and administered by a licensed veterinarian or at an approved anti-rabies clinic.
means any person duly licensed to practice veterinary medicine by the state board of veterinary examiners, or who is exempt from such licensing.
means any nondomestic creature (mammal, amphibian, reptile or fowl) which is of a species which is wild by nature, which can normally be found in a wild state, and which is not naturally tame or gentle, or which, because of its size, vicious nature and other characteristics, constitutes a danger to human life or property, including all animals identified herein as prohibited.
(Ordinance 2017-08-21-02, art. I, sec. 1, adopted 8/21/17)