(a) 
No person shall own, keep or harbor any dog or cat over four (4) months of age within the corporate limits of the city unless such dog or cat is vaccinated as required by this section. The provisions of this section do not apply to animals owned by a licensed research facility or government owned or operated or duly licensed animal shelter.
(b) 
All dogs and cats shall be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian in accordance with the provisions of the state Rabies Control Act of 1981 as now enacted or later amended. Proof of such vaccination must be shown to city personnel before city tags can be purchased.
(c) 
As long as proof of a current rabies vaccination and a current city tag can be provided, it is not necessary that the tags be worn by the animal. Such tags are nontransferable. Rabies vaccination records will be available to the animal control authority during business hours.
(Ordinance 465, sec. 17, adopted 8/19/90; Ordinance 568 adopted 6/21/04; Ordinance adopting 2004 Code; 2004 Code, sec. 2.202)
(a) 
Rabies control authority; reports by veterinarians.
(1) 
The director of the animal control department is designated as the rabies control authority of the city for the purposes of administering the Rabies Control Act of 1981 (Health and Safety Code, chapter 826).
(2) 
It shall be the duty of every licensed veterinarian to report to the animal control department his diagnosis of any animal observed by him as a rabies suspect.
(b) 
Report of bite cases; duties of owner of biting animal.
(1) 
It shall be the duty of every physician or other practitioner to report to the animal control department the names and addresses of persons treated for bites inflicted by animals, together with such other information as will be helpful in rabies control.
(2) 
It shall be the duty of every person owning or having custody of an animal which has bitten a human being to report the same to the animal control department, and to confine it in an enclosure or to securely hold the animal by the means of a chain or other device for observation and examination by the animal control department. No person having the custody or possession of such animal shall fail, refuse or neglect to allow an animal control officer to make an inspection or examination of such animal for the purpose of determining whether such animal has rabies.
(c) 
Quarantine regulations; pathological examination.
(1) 
No person may keep an animal within the city which has bitten a person or which is suspected of having bitten a person unless the bite or suspected bite shall have been immediately reported to the animal control department. A dog or cat shall after such report be securely quarantined for a period of ten (10) days. Any other biting animal shall be humanely killed, and its brain shall be tested for rabies. In lieu thereof the local health authority may allow the biting animal to be confined for thirty (30) days for observation, should such confinement conform to the regulations of the department of state health services.
(2) 
Quarantining shall be at the following places:
(A) 
The animal shelter, in which case the owner of the suspected animal shall pay the animal control department a fee as set forth in this chapter.
(B) 
A licensed veterinary hospital at the expense of the owner, upon the owner’s request.
(3) 
Home quarantine where all of the following requirements are met:
(A) 
The animal owner is a resident of the city and has a facility in the city limits to provide absolute security and isolation for the animal. If the owner of a biting animal fails to keep the animal so confined, an offense shall have been committed.
(B) 
The owner of the biting animal agrees that he will have the animal inspected by a licensed veterinarian on the first day of isolation and on the day immediately following the ten-day isolation period. The owner further agrees to furnish the animal control department with a certificate of health showing the animal to be free of rabies. If the owner of the biting animal fails to have the animal inspected on the first day of and on the day immediately following this ten-day observation period as required, an offense shall have been committed.
(C) 
The biting animal was currently vaccinated and was not at-large at the time of the bite.
(D) 
If an animal dies while in home quarantine, the animal control department shall be notified immediately, and the animal will be surrendered to the department for testing.
(E) 
Failure to comply with the home observation requirements shall constitute an offense.
(4) 
An animal of unknown ownership will be quarantined at the animal shelter.
(5) 
Upon the demand made by the animal control department, it shall be unlawful for the owner to fail to surrender any animal which has bitten a human or another animal, or which is suspected of having been exposed to rabies, for quarantine, which expense shall be borne by the owner.
(6) 
The quarantined animal may be reclaimed by the owner if adjudged free of rabies, upon payment of the fees set forth in this chapter and upon compliance with the vaccination provisions of this chapter.
(7) 
When an animal under quarantine, diagnosed by a licensed veterinarian as being rabid or suspected of being rabid, dies while under observation, the animal control department shall immediately send the head of such animal to the department of state health services for pathological examination. The animal control department shall notify the proper public health officer of reports of human contacts and the diagnosis made of the suspected animal after the pathological examination has been made.
(8) 
Any unvaccinated animal bitten by another animal suspected of or known to be rabid shall be immediately destroyed or shall be surrendered to the animal control department for a period of three (3) months’ quarantine, and shall be vaccinated during the third and eighth week of quarantine. Any vaccinated animal bitten by another animal suspected of being or known to be rabid shall be immediately vaccinated and surrendered to the animal control department for a period of forty-five (45) days’ quarantine. When the biting animal is determined not to be rabid, the bitten animal shall be released. All animals quarantined shall be at the owner’s expense. Upon surrender of an animal for quarantine, the owner shall be required to pay in advance one (1) month’s quarantine fee to defray a portion of the expense of care and feeding of the animal. Additional quarantine expenses shall be paid at the beginning of each subsequent month’s quarantine. If an owner fails to pay for any expense of quarantine when due, the animal shall become the property of the city and shall be subject to immediate disposal. The director of animal control is authorized to permit the quarantine of a bitten animal at a licensed veterinary clinic for the necessary quarantine period at the owner’s option and expense.
(d) 
Non-authorized killing of suspected rabid animals; surrender to city.
(1) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to kill, or cause to be killed, any rabid animal, any animal suspected of having been exposed to rabies, or any animal which has bitten a human or is suspected to have bitten a human, except as provided below, or to remove same from the city limits without written permission from the animal control department.
(2) 
The carcass of any dead animal suspected of having been exposed to rabies shall, upon demand, be surrendered to the animal control department.
(3) 
The animal control department shall direct the disposition of any animal found to be infected with rabies.
(4) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to fail or refuse to surrender any animal for quarantine, destruction or disposal as required herein when demand is made therefor by the animal control department.
(Ordinance 465, sec. 20, adopted 8/19/90; 2004 Code, sec. 2.205; Ordinance 603 adopted 2/19/07)