For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall
apply, unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different
meaning:
An animal that has been left on or about an unoccupied public
or private property, premises, or location and/or occupied public
property, with the intent to no longer claim ownership or provide
humane care of such animal(s), or leaving an animal in the care of
another person without their consent.
A structurally sound, moisture-proof and wind-proof shelter
large enough to enable the animal or fowl to move freely, having enclosed
walls or sides, a doorway of such size the animal can enter, a roof,
and a solid level floor, to which the animal may seek refuge from
moisture, wind and excessive heat or cold, and maintained in a clean,
sanitary and healthy manner so that the animal or fowl need not stand,
sit or lie in excrement.
The advisory committee composed of at least one (1) licensed
veterinarian, one (1) city official, one (1) person whose duties include
the daily operation of an animal shelter, one (1) representative from
an animal welfare organization or humane society, two (2) city council
members, and three (3) citizens.
A non-plant living being belonging to the animal kingdom,
having a capacity for spontaneous movement and rapid motor response
to stimulation, and not of a species having a capacity for articulate
speech.
Any person designated by the city as an employee who is authorized
and qualified to perform animal control duties under the laws of the
city.
Any facility operated by a humane society or the city or
its authorized agents or contracting facility for the purpose of impounding
or caring for animals held under the authority of this chapter.
Off the premises of the owner and not under the complete
control, either by leash, cord, chain, or similar method of physical
restraint, of a person having charge of the animal, or on the premises
of the owner and neither confined to the premises by means of a leash,
cord, chain, or enclosure, nor within the direct, constant, and immediate
presence of a person having effective verbal command of the animal.
Any place or facility, at a location properly zoned for that
activity, where animals are regularly bought, sold or traded, except
for those facilities otherwise defined in this section. This definition
does not apply to individual sales of animals by owners.
A commercial variety show, at a location properly zoned for
that activity, featuring animal acts for public entertainment.
A hit, kick, or strike to an animal by a person with any
object or part of a person’s body; or the pulling, pinching,
or squeezing of any part of an animal’s body by a person; or
entry by a person into a pen or other similar enclosure in which the
animal was being kept that was specifically designed and reasonably
certain to prevent the animal from leaving the pen or enclosure on
its own.
To restrict or secure an untethered animal to a building,
structure or other enclosure from which reasonably it cannot escape.
An animal that:
Without provocation attacks a person or domestic animal and
causes physical injury or death, if the attack occurs in a place other
than an enclosure in which the animal was being kept by its owner;
Without provocation behaves in such an aggressive manner that
would cause a reasonable person to be in imminent fear that such animal
will attack and cause physical injury or death to a person or domestic
animal;
Has previously been declared to be a dangerous animal by a final
order under this chapter; or
Is a “dangerous dog” within the meaning of Texas
Health & Safety Code ch. 822, if such animal is a dog.
When with reference to the chief of police, any person or
entity authorized to exercise any authority assigned to the chief
of police.
An animal that is domesticated or kept in captivity, such
as for a pet or for farm produce, rather than living in a wild or
feral state.
An animal that is wild, untamed, or has no ascertainable
owner. It shall be presumed, that a cat or dog not bearing a current
license tag or microchip, has no ascertainable owner and is feral.
A bird of any kind.
Any dog trained to attack intruders that has completed such
professional training and is so certified such that its attack can
be stopped on command and is registered with the city as such.
To give shelter, food, or water.
An animal that has a high probability of transmitting rabies,
such as, but not limited to, bats, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, and
foxes.
An organization regarded as nonprofit founded for the prevention
of cruelty to animals and education of the public.
Any premises, at a location properly zoned for that activity,
wherein any person engages in the business of boarding, breeding,
buying, letting for hire or selling dogs and cats. Kennel can also
refer to a temporary enclosure for a confined animal.
The city, acting through its license or permit department,
authorized veterinarians and animal control division.
Domestic animals raised for food and fiber such as hogs,
sheep, cattle, and horses.
Any on-farm breeding operation, on-farm animal feeding operation,
on-farm livestock shelter, or on-farm milking and accompanying milk
handling operation.
Any state-certified animal control officer employed by the
city.
An animal that has a low probability of transmitting rabies,
such as, but not limited to, rats, mice, squirrels and other members
of the Rodentia family, rabbits, armadillos, opossums, beaver, nutria,
snakes, shrews and moles.
To feed, shelter, protect, provide for, or bear the expense
of.
Is any person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation
owning, keeping, in charge of, in control of, or harboring one or
more animals. Owner also means a person who has an animal in his care,
or permits or allows an animal to remain on/or about his property
for (3) three or more consecutive days.
Any spectacle, display, act or event other than a circus,
at a location properly zoned for that activity, in which performing
animals are used.
Any person, firm, partnership, or corporation conducting
a business at a properly zoned location, whether operated separately
or in connection with another business enterprise other than a kennel,
that buys, sells, or boards any animal.
The act of purposely stimulating, inciting, agitating or
disturbing an animal.
Any animal which:
A house, apartment, room, or duplex inhabited as the principal
dwelling place of a person or persons.
A structure or building designed, constructed, or converted
for use as a residence.
Any place, at a location properly zoned for that activity,
which has available for hire, boarding and/or riding instruction any
horse, pony, donkey, mule or burro.
Any structure used to immediately restrict or confine an
animal to a limited amount of space, including, but not limited to,
a cage, pen, run, room, or hutch, and approved by the animal control
division.
Any steel, spring setting, mechanical jaw, leg-hold trap
or bar device trap designed for the capture of animals.
The surgical procedure which renders the animal incapable
of reproducing its own kind.
Is an animal running at large and without an ascertainable
owner. It is a rebuttable presumption that a cat or dog without identification
has no ascertainable owner.
Any of the ungulate mammals of the family Suidae, including
the pig, hog, boar and the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig.
Any device placed by city animal control personnel, employed
or used in the capture of animals, which is not under the constant
supervision of an employee and which functions in such a manner as
to confine any animal entering the same.
A person trained in and licensed by the state to practice
the branch of medicine dealing with the investigation, treatment,
and prevention of diseases in animals.
Any nondomestic creature (mammal, amphibian, reptile, arachnid,
or fowl) which is of a species that is wild by nature and which can
normally be found in the wild state and which is not naturally tame
or gentle, but is of a wild nature or disposition; or which, because
of its size, vicious nature and other characteristics, would constitute
a danger to human life or property, if not kept or maintained in a
safe and secure manner. Such creatures include but are not limited
to all forms of poisonous reptiles and nonpoisonous snakes which will
exceed a length of six feet when mature and nonhuman primates. Excluded
from this definition are hamsters, gerbils, ferrets, domesticated
breeds of rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice, newts and salamanders.
Any facility, at a location properly zoned for that activity,
other than a pet shop or kennel, displaying or exhibiting one (1)
or more species of nondomesticated animals, operated by a person.
(Ordinance 2009-10-05 601, sec.
1(A), adopted 10/5/09; Ordinance
adopting Code)
The city council by resolution or as part of the annual budget shall approve a list of fees and all fees shall be charged as set out in this chapter and as set forth in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code.
(Ordinance 2009-10-05 601, sec.
1(B), adopted 10/5/09; Ordinance
adopting Code)
This chapter establishes the animal control division and functions,
duties, and conduct of employees.
(1)
In
order to protect the public health and effectively control, regulate,
and provide for animals within the city, there is hereafter created
the division of animal control, within the city police department.
Said division shall consist of the administrative officer of animal
control and such other personnel as shall be assigned by the chief
of police.
(2)
The
animal control division shall enforce all laws and ordinances in the
city pertaining to the licensing, registration, keeping, treatment,
impounding, and regulation of animals within the city. In every case
and instance wherein the keeping of or the existence of animals presents
a health hazard, or threat to the public health, the animal control
division shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the county health
department.
(3)
The
administrative officer of animal control shall manage the city’s
animal shelter, or the city may contract with one or more private
entities for the purpose of operating a shelter. The administrative
officer shall keep such records and make such reports concerning the
activities of the division of animal control as may be required by
ordinance, the chief of police, the animal control officer, or by
the city council.
(4)
It
shall be the duty of the members of the division of animal control
to enforce the ordinances of the city applicable to domesticated and
wild animals, to conduct themselves in a proper and law-abiding manner,
and to avoid the use of unnecessary force on animals in the possession
or control of the division of animal control.
(5)
For
the purpose of discharging the duties imposed by this chapter and
to enforce its provisions, any animal control person or police officer
is empowered, at all reasonable times and upon presentation of appropriate
credentials, to enter upon any premises upon which the animal is kept
or harbored and to demand the exhibition by the owner of a dog or
cat the certificate of vaccination and registration for such dog or
cat. It is further provided that any employee may enter, at all reasonable
times and upon the presentation of proper credentials, the premises
where an animal is kept in an allegedly cruel or inhumane manner and
demand to examine and impound the animal when, in his or her opinion,
humane treatment is required. No employee, however, may enter a private
residence for purposes of making an inspection under this chapter
without first receiving permission from a lawful adult occupant of
such residence or being authorized to inspect such residence by a
magistrate or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction upon showing
of a probable violation of this chapter.
(6)
No
person shall interfere with or hinder any employee in the performance
of his or her duty.
(7)
The
animal control officer will maintain a monthly report of the total
number of animals impounded, the total number redeemed, the total
number euthanized, and the number remaining in the pound.
(Ordinance 2009-10-05 601, sec.
1(C), adopted 10/5/09)
(a)
Disposal of diseased animals and fowl.
It shall be the
duty of every person keeping or maintaining any animal or fowl which
becomes infected or afflicted with a disease which is contagious or
a threat to the life and health of other such animals or fowl, or
to humans, to humanely destroy the animal or fowl and dispose of its
remains when directed, and as directed, by an officer of the county
health department.
(b)
Disposal of dead animals and fowl.
Except for animals
and fowl kept by veterinarians or persons engaged in medical or scientific
research, and those mounted by a taxidermist, dead animals and fowl
shall be disposed of within 24 hours of the time of death. The manner
in which dead animals and fowl are disposed of shall, at minimum,
comply with the established regulations of the county health department
and applicable state laws and regulations.
(c)
Disposal on public property prohibited.
It shall be
unlawful for any person to dispose of any dead animal or fowl upon
public property within the city. Public property shall include, but
not be limited to, streets, alleys, parks, trash cans, dumpsters,
buildings, and grounds owned, operated, or rented by any level of
government, school property, and drainage channels maintained by the
city.
(Ordinance 2009-10-05 601, sec.
1(D), adopted 10/5/09)
(a)
Maintaining sanitary conditions on public property.
It shall be unlawful for any owner or custodian of any animal to
cause or allow such animal to soil, defile or defecate on any public
property or upon any street, sidewalk, public way, play area or common
grounds owned jointly by the members of a homeowners or condominium
association, or upon private property other than that of the owner,
unless such owner or custodian immediately removes and disposes of
all feces deposited by such animal by the following methods:
(b)
Maintaining sanitary conditions on private property.
It shall be unlawful for any person owning, harboring or keeping
an animal within the city to permit any waste matter from the animal
to collect and remain on the property of the owner or custodian, or
on the property of others so as to cause or create an unhealthy, unsanitary,
dangerous or offensive living condition on the owner’s or custodian’s
property, or to abutting property of others.
(Ordinance D19-02 adopted 2/21/19)
(a)
It
shall be unlawful for any person to ride a horse or any animal on
any of the premises of any park owned and operated by the city unless
such animal is ridden in or on the bridle paths which are so designated
for the riding of animals or any other area plainly marked as an area
designated for the riding of such animals.
(b)
It
shall be unlawful for any person to operate any animal-drawn vehicle
on any of the premises of any park owned and operated by the city
including streets and bridle paths unless specifically designed and
marked for such operations.
(c)
(1)
A riding animal or animal for drawing vehicles may be kept at a private
residence for the purpose of immediate recreation for not more than
eight hours in any 24-hour period. If the animal is stabled in the
city, it must have a permanent place for stabling of ten acres or
more than the private residence.
(d)
Commercial
enterprises of the type described herein such as rented bridle carriages
or pony rides must be licensed to operate in the city or obtain a
permit at city hall a minimum of seven days prior to the event.
(e)
In
all activities involving animals covered in this section, the provisions
of this chapter apply.
(Ordinance 2009-10-05 601, sec.
1(F), adopted 10/5/09)
(a)
No
performing animal exhibition or circus shall be permitted in which
animals are induced or encouraged to perform through the use of chemical,
mechanical, electrical, or manual devices in a manner which will cause,
or is likely to cause, physical injury or suffering.
(b)
All
equipment used on a performing animal shall fit properly and be in
good working condition.
(Ordinance 2009-10-05 601, sec.
1(G), adopted 10/5/09)
The owner of an animal or the proprietor/manager of an establishment
where food items are sold or offered for sale, for consumption on
or off the premises, commits an offense if he permits an animal to
enter or remain in such food establishment. This section shall not
apply to Seeing Eye assisting dogs under the control of a disabled
person, or police dogs.
(Ordinance 2009-10-05 601, sec.
1(H), adopted 10/5/09)
It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, or offer for adoption,
a live animal or fowl directly from public property or along a public
right-of-way.
(Ordinance 2009-10-05 601, sec.
1(I), adopted 10/5/09)
The driver of any vehicle which collides with or strikes any
domesticated animal shall stop such vehicle immediately at the scene
of such accident, or as close as possible without interfering with
traffic, render reasonable assistance to the animal and then and there
either locate and notify the owner of the animal or report the accident
and the injury to the department of animal control or the police department.
An injured animal may be delivered to its owner, a veterinarian, animal
control personnel, or an animal shelter. If no owner of the animal
can be located, the animal shall be humanely destroyed by animal control
personnel or by a police officer. The provisions of this section shall
not apply to any emergency vehicle or to a driver taking an ill or
injured person to medical care, nor shall it require assistance to
an animal if providing such assistance would place any person in danger
from the animal or traffic.
(Ordinance 2009-10-05 601, sec.
1(J), adopted 10/5/09)
