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:
Animal.
Any vertebrate animal other than human beings.
Animal nuisance.
The public nuisance created by an animal or animals within the city limits that affects the quality of life of persons of normal nervous sensibilities, including but not limited to:
(1) 
Excessive noise produced by barking, whining, digging, crowing, neighing or braying or any other noise activity.
(2) 
Destruction of public or private property belonging to any person other than the owner.
(3) 
Any foul or noxious odor produced by the offending animal or animals.
(4) 
Allowing the animals to urinate or defecate on any public or private property other than that of the owner unless such waste is removed and properly disposed of by the custodian of the animal.
At large.
Not physically restrained to the premises of the owner or not under the direct control of the owner, handler, or trainer (direct control shall mean securely confined by leash, chain, or other device not more than six (6) feet in length held by a person capable of controlling the animal).
Cat kennel.
Any place in which more than three (3) feline animals over three (3) months of age are confined. This definition excludes animal hospitals.
Dog.
Any male or female canine.
Dog kennel.
Any building, structure or enclosure wherein more than three (3) canine animals over the age of three (3) months of age are confined. This definition excludes animal hospitals.
Fowl and rabbits.
Chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, pheasants, doves, pigeons, squabs, guineas, peacocks, roosters, similar fowl and rabbits.
Household.
Those who dwell in the same residence and compose a family.
Hybrid animal.
Any offspring of two (2) animals of different species.
Livestock.
Cattle, including an ox, steer, bull, cow or calf, and horses.
LRCA (local rabies control authority).
The officer designated by the municipal or county governing body under the Texas Health and Safety Code, chapter 826.
Owner.
Any person or legal entity owning, harboring, or caring for an animal.
Provocation.
Any purposeful act that causes an animal to bite, scratch or otherwise attack in protection of self, the owner, or the owner’s property.
Restraint or restrained.
Any physical means of controlling an animal, to include but not limited to a cage, fence, leash (or chain) or automobile (in the cab or tied).
Service animal.
Any animal used for the aid of a human companion (example: hearing, seeing, sensory perception, etc.).
Street line.
The nearest edge of any sidewalk, or if there is none, then the nearest edge of any curb, or if there is none, then the nearest edge of the improved portion of the public right-of-way.
Vicious animal.
Any individual animal or any species that has on two (2) previous occasions without provocation attacked or bitten any person or other animal, or any individual animal which the local health authority has reason to believe has a dangerous disposition, or any species of animal which the LRCA has reason to believe has a dangerous disposition likely to be harmful to humans or other animals.
Wild animal.
An undomesticated animal with the propensity, tendency, or disposition for unprovoked attacks on humans or domestic animals.
Working day.
Any day of the week excluding weekends and city-observed holidays.
(1990 Code, sec. 4-1)
A person who shall be found guilty of violating this chapter may be assessed a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). Each day the violation occurs may be deemed a separate offense. Repeat offenses may be punished by no less than two hundred dollars ($200.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) plus court costs.
(1990 Code, sec. 4-9)
The amount of any fee imposed by this chapter shall be defined as a debt to the city, and any person keeping any animal without having complied with the provisions of this chapter shall be liable to an action in the name of the city in any court of competent jurisdiction for the amount of the fees or penalties imposed and required by this chapter to be paid for the privilege of keeping such animal, and it shall be the duty of the animal control officers to cause a civil complaint to be filed against any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter, and the county sheriff’s department shall cause an action to be brought against any person failing to pay the penalty required by the provisions of this chapter for the recovery of the same.
(1990 Code, sec. 4-6)
It is hereby declared to be a nuisance and no person shall cause, suffer or permit the carcass of any animal to remain upon any lot, premises or place owned, controlled or occupied by him or it for a period of more than twenty-four (24) hours.
(1990 Code, sec. 4-2)
Every person owning or occupying premises where manure from any pigeon, fowl, rabbit or other animal accumulates shall provide for the removal of such manure daily, and boxes, bins or receptacles of a design and construction acceptable to the animal control officers shall be provided by the owner or occupant of such premises, and such boxes, bins or receptacles shall be used only for the purpose of containing the accumulation of manure which shall be placed therein or removed therefrom, and in no instance shall manure be so placed in such boxes or receptacles in such a manner as to prevent the tight closing of the lid; provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall apply to manure which is spread as fertilizer over or around cultivated plants, vines, vegetables, lawns, bushes or trees, or to manure kept by any nursery for commercial fertilizer purposes, unless such manure creates a nuisance either from fly breeding or excessive obnoxious odors. Said boxes, bins or receptacles shall be constructed of brick, stone, concrete, metal or wood lined with metal or other sound material, and shall be proof against access to the contents thereof by flies. The contents of said boxes, bins, or receptacles shall be removed once a week.
(1990 Code, sec. 4-3)
No person who is ordered by the animal control officers to clean or disinfect any stable, barn, corral, stall, pen, coop, building, or place in which any fowl, bird or other animal is kept, or who is ordered by such officer to clean or disinfect any box, bin or receptacle used for the accumulation of manure, shall fail or neglect to clean or disinfect such stable, barn, corral, stall, pen, coop, building, place, box, bin, or receptacle.
(1990 Code, sec. 4-4)
No person except a licensed veterinarian shall keep any animal which is known or believed by him to be infected with any dangerous or communicable disease, or which is afflicted with any painful disease believed by him to be incurable, without written permission to do so from an animal control officer of the city.
(1990 Code, sec. 4-7)
(a) 
Traps containing noxious substance.
The use of cyanic pellet traps or any other kind of trap containing a substance noxious to man is prohibited within the city limits, unless deemed necessary by the department of state health services for the control of communicable disease.
(b) 
Inhumane traps.
No person shall set up or allow to be set up on his property within the city limits any kind of trap that tears, cuts, or in any way mutilates the prey. This will not apply to traps used to catch common rodents, i.e., rats, mice, gophers, and ground squirrels. Such traps may be used on the order of the animal control officers for the control of communicable diseases.
(c) 
Tin traps.
Tin traps are not to be allowed in the city limits unless ordered by the animal control officers.
(1990 Code, sec. 4-12)
(a) 
Purpose and scope.
It is the purpose of this section to provide for the humane control and confinement of animals within the city limits. It is not the intent of this section to repeal any section of any ordinance regulating animals.
(b) 
Secure and humane confinement required.
It shall be unlawful for an owner or person in control of an animal to fail to keep the animal under restraint in a securely enclosed or confined area and in a manner that will isolate the animal from the public and other animals except for animals under the control of the owner.
(c) 
Diligent care and control.
Further, it shall be unlawful for an owner to fail or refuse to exercise diligent care and control of his or her animal to prevent such animal from becoming a public nuisance. It shall be unlawful for a person having charge, care, or ownership of an animal to fail to keep the animal from roaming beyond the boundaries of the person’s premises.
(d) 
Tethering illegal.
It shall be unlawful for a person to use a chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device to attach an animal to a stationary object or trolley system.
(e) 
Defenses.
It is an affirmative defense to a violation of subsection (d) that the animal tethering:
(1) 
Is during a lawful animal event, veterinary treatment, grooming, training, or law enforcement activity;
(2) 
Is required to protect the safety or welfare of a person or the animal, and the animal’s owner maintains direct physical control of the animal;
(3) 
Occurs in the direct physical control of the owner in a designated city park; or
(4) 
Occurs on the owner’s premises and:
(A) 
While the animal is within the owner’s direct physical control;
(B) 
Prevents the animal from advancing to within fifteen (15) feet of the edge of any public street; and
(C) 
Does not occur for more than eight (8) hours in a twenty-four (24) hour period.
(f) 
Qualifications on defenses.
The affirmative defenses provided in subsection (e) are only available if the following specifications are met:
(1) 
The chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device is attached to a properly fitted collar or harness worn by the animal;
(2) 
The chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device is not placed directly around the animal’s neck;
(3) 
The chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device does not exceed 1/20th of the animal’s body weight;
(4) 
The chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device, by design and placement, allows the animal a reasonable and unobstructed range of motion without entanglement; and
(5) 
The animal has access to adequate shelter, adequate food and clean water.
(g) 
Offenses; penalty.
A person commits an offense if the person fails to comply with this section.
(1) 
An offense under this section is a class C misdemeanor. If a person fails to comply with this section with respect to more than one (1) animal, the person’s conduct with respect to each animal constitutes a separate offense.
(2) 
An offense under this section is punishable by a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for each day that the offense is committed.
(3) 
In addition, the city reserves to impound the animal in keeping with section 2.04.004 of this chapter.
(h) 
Direct control.
This section does not prohibit a person from walking an animal with a hand-held leash.
(Ordinance 2009-513 adopted 2/17/09)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to own an animal that makes an unprovoked attack on a person or another animal so as to cause bodily injury to the person or animal when such attack occurs in a place other than an enclosure in which the animal was being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the animal from leaving the enclosure on its own. Violation of this section shall be considered a class C misdemeanor punishable with a fine of up to five hundred dollars ($500.00). The deputy sheriffs or animal control officers may issue a summons to a person in violation of this section. Said summons shall contain a written promise by the owner to appear in justice court within ten (10) days of the date of issuance to answer the charge made in the summons.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to own an animal that threatens, chases, or attacks a person or other animal when such activity occurs in a place other than an enclosure in which the animal was being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the animal from leaving the enclosure on its own. Violation of this section shall be considered a class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to one hundred thirty-five dollars ($135.00) upon conviction. The deputy sheriffs or animal control officers may issue a summons to a person in violation of this section. Said summons shall contain a written promise by the owner to appear in justice court within ten (10) days of the date of issuance to answer the charge made in the summons.
(c) 
The animal control officers may order the seizure and humane euthanasia of any vicious animal found within the corporate limits of the city.
(d) 
The animal control officers may order that a vicious animal be:
(1) 
Permanently removed from the corporate limits of the city;
(2) 
Transferred permanently to an appropriate animal care facility; or
(3) 
Euthanized in the event that an animal is found in violation of any order described in subsection (1) or (2) above.
(1990 Code, sec. 4-39)