The following words and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them:
Animal.
Any creature of the animal kingdom, including mammals, fowl, reptiles and animals whose natural habitat is water, such as fish.
Animal control officer.
A person designated by the city as the primary enforcement officer regulating animals and owners of animals and for the enforcement of sections of the Texas Statutes pertaining to the care and control of animals.
At large.
Whenever the animal in question is out of the immediate control of the person having charge of it, and off his premises.
City-appointed veterinarian.
Any practitioner of veterinary medicine licensed by the state to practice such in the state, that has been appointed by the city council to be such.
Collar.
Any collar constructed of nylon, leather, or similar material, specifically designed to be used for a dog.
Dangerous animal.
Any warm-blooded mammal that 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. A dangerous animal includes any hybrid animal or any pet wildlife which has attacked a human or which is apprehended or observed unrestrained.
Fowl.
Any animal of the class Aves, such as chickens, pigeons, ducks, turkeys, ostrich, emu, etc.
Harboring.
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 ten (10) days or longer.
Livestock.
Any grazing animal normally found on a farm or ranch such as cattle, horses, mules, asses, burros, sheep, goats, etc.
Local rabies control authority.
The animal control officer or other person designated by the city council as the local health authority who has the duties as described in V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, section 826.017(c).
Owner.
A person who owns or has custody or control of a dog.
Properly fitted.
With respect to a collar, a collar that measures the circumference of a dog’s neck plus at least one inch.
Restraint.
A chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device that attaches a dog to a stationary object or trolley system.
Wildlife.
Any animal which occurs naturally in a wild state. This includes any animal which is part wildlife.
(1987 Code, sec. 4-1; Ordinance 19-02, sec. 1, adopted 1/28/19; Ordinance adopting Code)
(a) 
Prohibited.
It shall be unlawful for any person raising, owning and/or keeping any animal to willfully suffer or permit any such creature to run at large upon the public streets, avenues, alleys, parks or other public property of the city, or to willfully suffer or permit any animal to run at large or to go upon the premises owned or in possession of or under the control of any other person in the city.
(b) 
Penalty.
Any person violating this section shall be fined a sum of not less than $50.00 and not more than $500.00, and each day shall constitute a separate violation. For a first offense, a warning shall be issued.
(1987 Code, sec. 4-2; Ordinance 13-02 adopted 6/24/13)
(a) 
No person shall willfully or knowingly keep or harbor on his premises any animal that makes or creates loud and obnoxious noises by whatever method created, thereby disturbing the peace of the neighborhood or disturbing the occupant of adjacent premises or people living in the vicinity of such loud and obnoxious noise.
(b) 
A person shall be deemed to have willfully and knowingly violated the terms of this section if such person shall have been notified by his neighbors or the chief of police, the animal control officer, or any police officer of such disturbance and shall have refused for a period of twenty-four (24) hours to correct such disturbance and prevent its recurrence.
(c) 
Any person violating this section shall be fined a sum of fifty dollars ($50.00), and each day shall constitute a separate violation.
(1987 Code, sec. 4-3)
(a) 
It shall be the duty of every person raising, owning or keeping any animals to keep such creatures and their abodes in a sanitary condition so that such animal, or the place where such creature is kept, shall not emit foul and offensive odors of sufficient strength to be detected on any adjoining property.
(b) 
Any owner of livestock within the corporate limits of the city shall maintain and keep all buildings and the vicinity around such buildings or all lots, stockyards, or open areas where any livestock are kept in such a manner that any and all of such places are free from the accumulation of rubbish, garbage, manure or other putrefying, decomposing, infectious or bad-smelling substances. It is hereby declared to be a nuisance for any person to maintain any of the places mentioned in this subsection in such a manner that such places are not free from the accumulation of the items mentioned in this subsection or other putrefying, decomposing, infectious or bad-smelling substances.
(c) 
Any person violating subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall be fined a sum not less than ten dollars ($10.00) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).
(1987 Code, secs. 4-4, 4-5)
It shall be unlawful to keep, harbor, or raise swine within a pen or other enclosure at any location within the corporate limits of the city, except as follows:
(1) 
Swine may be brought into the city for the purpose of selling such animals within twenty-four (24) hours.
(2) 
Swine may be kept or maintained on the premises leased to the Fayette County Country Fair Association, Inc., or any successor thereof, during the time of a rodeo, a fair, a stock show, or a regularly scheduled event which is scheduled for the purpose of delivering or redelivering such swine; provided, however, that the person or persons keeping or maintaining such swine under this provision comply with all applicable and/or effective requirements of the Fayette County Country Fair Association, Inc., or any successor thereof.
(1987 Code, sec. 4-6)
(a) 
A person having knowledge of an animal bite or scratch to an individual that the person could reasonably foresee as capable of transmitting rabies or of an animal that the person suspects is rabid shall report the incident or animal to the animal control officer. The report shall include the name and address of any victim and of the owner of the animal, if known, and any other data which may aid in the locating of the victim or the animal.
(b) 
The owner of an animal that is reported to be rabid or to have exposed an individual or that the owner knows or suspects to be rabid or to have exposed an individual shall submit the animal for quarantine to the animal control officer.
(c) 
The animal control officer shall investigate all reports filed under this section.
(1987 Code, sec. 4-7)
(a) 
The city-appointed veterinarian shall quarantine for ten (10) days any domestic dog, cat or ferret or for thirty (30) days for any other animal that the animal control officer has probable cause to believe is rabid or has exposed an individual.
(b) 
The rules governing the testing of quarantined animals, the procedure for and method of quarantine, and the types of facilities that may be used for quarantine shall be provided by the state board of health.
(c) 
In accordance with the rules of the state board of health, the animal control officer may contract with one (1) or more public or private entities for the purpose of providing and operating a quarantine facility.
(d) 
If it is determined by the city-appointed veterinarian that a quarantined animal shows the clinical signs of the disease of rabies, the veterinarian shall humanely destroy the animal. If an animal dies or is destroyed while in quarantine, the vet shall remove the head or brain of the animal and submit it to the nearest department of state health services laboratory for testing.
(e) 
If the city-appointed veterinarian determines that a quarantined animal does not show the clinical signs of rabies, the animal control officer shall release it to the owner following the quarantine period if:
(1) 
The owner has an unexpired rabies vaccination certificate for the animal; or
(2) 
The animal is vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian at the owner’s expense.
(f) 
The owner of an animal that is quarantined under this section shall pay to the animal control officer the reasonable costs of the quarantine and disposition of the animal, and the animal control officer may bring suit to collect those costs. The animal control officer may sell and retain the proceeds or keep, grant or destroy an animal that the owner or custodian does not take possession of on or before the third day following the final day of the quarantine.
(1987 Code, sec. 4-8; Ordinance adopting Code)