The animal control officer shall serve as the local rabies control
authority as required by state law.
(Ordinance adopting Code)
(a)
The
owner or custodian of a dog or cat shall have the animal vaccinated
for rabies by the time the animal is four months of age and at regular
intervals thereafter as prescribed by state board of health rule.
A person commits an offense if the person is the owner or custodian
of a dog or cat and fails or refuses to have each such dog or cat
owned by the person vaccinated against rabies as prescribed by board
rule.
(b)
A
veterinarian who vaccinates a dog or cat against rabies shall issue
to the animal’s owner or custodian a vaccination certificate
in a form that meets the minimum standards set by board rule.
(c)
Information
that is contained in a rabies vaccination certificate that identifies
or tends to identify the owner or an address, telephone number, or
other personally identifying information of the owner of the vaccinated
animal is confidential and not subject to disclosure under chapter
552, public information, Government Code.
(d)
The
information may be disclosed only to a governmental entity for purposes
related to the protection of public health and safety. A governmental
entity that receives the information, including a county or municipality
that registers dogs and cats, must maintain the confidentiality of
the information, may not disclose the information under chapter 552,
public information, Government Code, and may not use the information
for a purpose that does not directly relate to the protection of public
health and safety.
(e)
A
rabies vaccine for animals may be administered only by or under the
direct supervision of a veterinarian.
(f)
A
veterinarian may not administer or directly supervise the administration
of rabies vaccine in this state unless the person is:
(g)
A
person may not sell or distribute rabies vaccine for animals to any
person except a licensed veterinarian or to a person working in a
veterinary clinic who accepts the vaccine on behalf of the veterinarian.
(h)
This
section does not prohibit a pharmacy licensed by the state board of
pharmacy from supplying rabies vaccine for animals to a licensed veterinarian.
(i)
This
section does not prohibit a veterinarian licensed by the state board
of veterinary medical examiners from selling or dispensing rabies
vaccine to an individual with whom the veterinarian has a veterinarian-client-patient
relationship as described by chapter 801, veterinarians, Occupations
Code, for the sole purpose of allowing that individual to administer
the rabies vaccine to that individual’s own livestock.
(Ordinance adopting Code)
(a)
Every
animal which bites a person shall be promptly reported to the animal
control officer and shall thereupon regardless of vaccination status
be securely quarantined at the direction of the animal control officer.
Every domestic dog, cat, or domestic ferret which bites a person shall
be quarantined for a period of ten (10) days, and shall not be released
from such quarantine except by written permission of the animal control
officer. Such quarantine will be at the owner’s expense in a
department of state health services approved quarantine facility.
In the case of stray animals or in a case of animals whose ownership
is not known, such quarantine shall be at a department of state health
services approved quarantine facility or humanely destroyed and the
head of the animal be submitted to a rabies laboratory for testing
at the expense of the city.
(b)
Upon
demand made by the animal control officer, it shall be unlawful for
the owner of the animal to fail to surrender any animal that has bitten
a person. An animal quarantined under the provisions of this section
may be reclaimed by the owner if adjudged by a practitioner of veterinary
medicine to be free of rabies, after the quarantine period has expired
and upon the payment of fees. If a quarantined animal does not have
a current rabies vaccination, it must be vaccinated against rabies
at the end of the quarantine period.
(c)
When
the report of the department of state health services or a laboratory
examination approved by the department gives a positive diagnosis
of rabies, the animal control officer shall recommend a citywide quarantine.
No animal shall be taken into the streets, or be permitted to be in
the streets or off the premises of the owner or keeper, during such
period of quarantine.
(d)
During such period of rabies quarantine as herein mentioned, every animal bitten by an animal adjudged to be rabid shall be forthwith destroyed or, at the owner’s request, placed under six months’ quarantine as provided in subsection (a), above.
(e)
The
owner of an animal placed into the city animal control quarantine
facility will be charged $100.00 for the 10-day quarantine period.
If the animal is not released by the local rabies control authority
or retrieved by the owner at the end of the quarantine period, the
owner will pay a fee of $2.00 per day for each day thereafter. The
owner will also be responsible for any and all medical costs incurred
by the animal while at the quarantine facility.
(f)
No
person shall kill, or cause to be killed, any rabid animal, any animal
suspected of having been exposed to rabies, or any animal that has
bitten a human, except as herein provided, nor remove same from the
city limits without the permission from the animal control officer.
(g)
The
carcass of any dead animal exposed to rabies shall, upon demand, be
surrendered to the animal control officer.
(Ordinance 439, sec. 5-3, adopted 1/20/04; Ordinance adopting Code)
(a)
The
animal control officer, the city manager, or the police chief is authorized
and directed to impound or have impounded all animals subject to provisions
of this article which are found to be in violation of this article.
(b)
Fees
as fixed by the city council shall be paid before any of such animal
is surrendered to its owner.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-4; Ordinance
adopting Code)
(a)
Any
dog or cat impounded under the provisions of this article shall be
kept for a period of five days; and after such period of time, if
such animal has not been claimed and fees as provided paid by the
owner of such animal, it shall become the property of the city and
disposed of at the discretion of the city.
(b)
Any
time within six months from the date of sale, the owner of any animal
impounded and sold under the provisions of this article shall have
the right to redeem the same by paying to the purchaser thereof double
the amount paid by said purchaser for such animal and his reasonable
expenses incurred in keeping the same
(c)
The
term “person” shall be construed to include both singular
and plural, and shall mean and embrace any individual, corporation,
association, partnership or society, and their agents, servants and
employees.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-5)
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined as provided in section 1.01.009, and each and every day of such violation shall be deemed a separate and complete offense.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-6)
