City of Willow Park, TX DANGEROUS OR VICIOUS ANIMALS

A written request for a finding of sufficient cause to believe that an animal is vicious/dangerous may be made upon presentation to the rabies prevention officer of one (1) or more sworn affidavits of complaint signed by a competent individual. Such individual who initiates the request may be a rabies prevention officer or any other competent individual. The sworn affidavit shall set forth the incident(s) complained of, including, at the minimum, the nature and the date of the act(s), the location of the event(s), the name of the owner of the animal, the address of the owner, and the description of the animal doing such act(s). The rabies prevention officer shall investigate the complaint and may find there is sufficient cause to believe that the animal is vicious/dangerous hereunder. The rabies prevention officer shall make written findings of fact that the animal is either vicious/dangerous or not.

Within five (5) working days of finding an animal vicious/dangerous, the rabies prevention officer will notify by certified mail, return receipt requested, or in person, the person identified in the investigative process of subsection (a) of this section as the owner of the animal, of the rabies prevention officer’s finding of that animal as vicious/dangerous, of the section 2.02.006 requirements for owners of vicious/dangerous animals as set out herein, of the owner’s right to a determination hearing, and of the section 2.02.003(b) requirements of an owner to securely confine the vicious/dangerous animal during the pendency of a determination hearing.

If the animal is found to be vicious/dangerous, the notice shall inform the owner of the animal that a determination hearing may be requested to contest the finding. The request for a determination hearing must be in writing and must be received by the rabies prevention officer no later than five (5) working days from receipt by the owner or from the date of in-person notification of the vicious/dangerous animal finding. Failure to appeal the finding within five (5) working days shall result in such finding becoming final.

(Ordinance adopting 1993 Code; 1993 Code, sec. 2.302)

§ 2.02.003 Determination hearing.

Upon the written request for a determination hearing by the owner of an animal found vicious/dangerous herein, the rabies prevention officer shall schedule said hearing. The rabies prevention officer shall appoint a hearing officer. The determination hearing shall be conducted within ten (10) working days of receipt of the written request for such hearing. The owner shall be notified of said hearing by certified mail, return receipt requested. Failure of the owner to appear at the determination hearing shall result in such finding becoming a final declaration.

From the time that an owner makes written request for a determination hearing and throughout the pendency of the determination hearing and any appeal to municipal court, it shall be unlawful for the owner of the subject animal to fail or refuse to securely confine the animal in a humane manner or to keep the animal under restraint at all times. It shall be unlawful for the owner of the subject animal to fail to comply with section 2.02.006(1)(E) of this article. An owner who fails to comply with all requirements specified in this subsection (b) shall be subject to a fine of not less than three hundred dollars ($300.00) and not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).

At the determination hearing before the hearing officer, the owner of the subject animal may admit, admit with explanation, or deny that the animal is a vicious/dangerous animal.

(d)

No formal or sworn complaint shall be necessary. The rabies prevention officer shall hear or review any testimony or evidence presented by the complaining witness(es), witnesses to any incident which may be germane to such a determination, any person possessing information pertinent to such determination, the affidavit(s) submitted to the rabies prevention officer, and any testimony or evidence presented by the animal owner or his or her witnesses. The burden of proof is upon the party or person alleging that the subject animal is vicious/dangerous. If the hearing officer determines by the preponderance of the evidence that the subject animal is vicious/dangerous, he or she shall so determine in writing.

(Ordinance adopting 1993 Code; 1993 Code, sec. 2.303)

§ 2.02.004 Appeals.

The owner of an animal determined to be vicious/dangerous at the hearing provided for in section 2.02.003 herein has the right to appeal the hearing officer’s determination to municipal court. Failure to appeal within the time allotted shall result in the hearing officer’s decision becoming final.

The appeal must be instituted by filing, not later than five (5) working days from the day the decision was made by the hearing officer determining the animal to be vicious/dangerous, a petition with the clerk of the municipal court along with payment of an administrative appeal filing fee in the amount established by city council, as well as payment of any other costs required by law for municipal courts. If the determination is reversed on appeal by the municipal court judge, then only the administrative appeal filing fee in the amount established by city council may be refunded to the owner upon request.

After filing a petition for appeal, the municipal clerk shall schedule a hearing and notify all parties of the date, time and place of hearing.

(d)

The appeal hearing shall be a de novo review. The municipal court judge shall also examine the evidence presented at the hearing before the hearing officer, and if the court determines by the preponderance of the evidence that the subject animal is vicious/dangerous, the court’s determination shall be final.

(Ordinance adopting 1993 Code; 1993 Code, sec. 2.304; Ordinance adopting 2017 Code)

§ 2.02.005 Defenses.

Defense to determination.

It is a defense to a determination that an animal is vicious/dangerous that when the bite, injury, damage or fatality caused by the animal occurred:

The person was committing a willful trespass or other tort upon the premises occupied by the owner of the animal;

The person was teasing, tormenting, abusing, or assaulting the animal, or had in the past been observed or reported to have teased, tormented, abused or assaulted the animal;

(3)

The person was committing or attempting to commit a crime;

(4)

The animal was a properly restrained domestic animal at the time another animal was bitten, injured, damaged or killed;

(5)

The animal was protecting or defending a person within the immediate vicinity of the animal from an attack or assault;

(6)

The animal was sick or injured and responding to pain;

(7)

The animal was protecting itself, offspring, or its kennelmates; or

(8)

The animal was being used by a law enforcement agency in the performance of its duties or under the direction of a law enforcement officer, whether on or off duty.

Defense to prosecution.

It is a defense to prosecution that the person is a veterinarian, a peace officer, a person employed by a recognized animal shelter, or a person employed by the state or a political subdivision of the state to deal with stray animals and has temporary ownership, custody, or control of the dog in connection with that position.

It is a defense to prosecution that the person is an employee of the institutional division of the state department of criminal justice or a law enforcement agency and trains or uses dogs for law enforcement or corrections purposes.

(3)

It is a defense to prosecution that the person is a dog trainer or an employee of a guard dog company under the Private Security Act (V.T.C.A., Occupations Code, chapter 1702).

(Ordinance adopting 1993 Code; 1993 Code, sec. 2.305)

§ 2.02.006 Requirements for owner.

Final determination occurs whenever a finding of a vicious/dangerous animal by the rabies prevention officer or determination of a vicious/dangerous animal by the hearing officer becomes final through the owner’s failure to timely appeal such finding or determination, or, upon appeal, when a municipal court judge makes a determination that an animal is vicious/dangerous. Compliance with these requirements will be determined by the rabies prevention officer.

An owner of an animal determined to be vicious/dangerous under this article must comply with the following requirements within thirty (30) days of final determination:

(A)

The animal must be licensed (annual fee in amount established by city council) in accordance with this chapter;

(B)

The vicious/dangerous animal shall at all times wear a collar marked with a fluorescent yellow color visible at fifty feet (50') so that the animal can be identified;

(C)

The vicious/dangerous animal must be kept restrained at all times or in a secure enclosure as defined in this chapter. The enclosure shall be securely locked at all times. If a need is demonstrated, the rabies prevention officer may require an owner of a vicious/dangerous animal to use additional materials to secure the enclosure;

(D)

The owner of the vicious/dangerous animal must secure and present evidence to the rabies prevention officer of public liability insurance in the amount of at least one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) to cover any damages caused by the vicious/dangerous animal. The insurance shall be for a twelve (12) month period and shall not be cancelled unless the animal is no longer kept by the owner;

(E)

The vicious/dangerous animal, when taken outside the enclosure, must be securely muzzled in a manner that will not cause injury to the animal nor interfere with its vision or respiration but shall prevent it from biting any person or animal, and the vicious/dangerous animal must be restrained by a substantial chain or cable leash not more than six feet (6') in length with a minimum tensile strength of one thousand (1,000) pounds;

(F)

The owner shall post signs on all sides of a fence, or on the house if there is no fence, in four-inch (4") letters, warning that there is a vicious/dangerous animal on the property. In addition, the owner shall conspicuously display a sign with a symbol, understandable by small children, warning of the presence of a vicious/dangerous animal; and

(G)

The vicious/dangerous animal must be spayed or neutered.

If the owner of an animal determined to be vicious/dangerous under this article fails or refuses to comply with the requirements specified in subsection (1) of this section, the animal shall be seized by a rabies prevention officer and euthanized.

(Ordinance adopting 1993 Code; 1993 Code, sec. 2.306; Ordinance adopting 2017 Code)

§ 2.02.007 Notification of change of status; compliance by new owner.

The owner of an animal determined to be vicious/dangerous shall notify the rabies prevention officer within twenty-four (24) hours if the vicious animal is at large, unconfined, has attacked a human being or another animal, has died, or has been sold or given away. If the animal has been sold or given away, the former owner shall provide the rabies prevention officer with the name, address, and telephone number of the new owner. If the new owner’s address is in the city or if the animal is kept in the city, the rabies prevention officer shall notify the new owner by certified mail, return receipt requested, or in person, that a determination has been made the animal is vicious/dangerous and provide the new owner a copy of the requirements contained in section 2.02.006 and this section. The new owner must be given notice to comply with the requirements for owners of vicious/dangerous animals, if the vicious/dangerous animal is physically located for any time within the city. It shall be unlawful for new owners to fail to comply with any requirements of section 2.02.006 and this section. The same reporting requirements are imposed on any and all subsequent owners of the vicious/dangerous animal.

(Ordinance adopting 1993 Code; 1993 Code, sec. 2.307)

§ 2.02.008 Penalty; attacks by animal.

It shall be unlawful for a person who owns an animal determined to be vicious/dangerous as provided herein to fail or refuse to comply with any requirement provided in section 2.02.006(1) or section 2.02.007. Any failure or refusal to comply shall subject the person in violation to a fine of not less than three hundred dollars ($300.00) and not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).

After a final determination is made that an animal is vicious/dangerous, the rabies prevention officer shall order quarantine of the subject animal in compliance with requirements of this chapter in the event that:

The vicious/dangerous animal kills, wounds, or assists in killing or wounding any properly restrained domestic animal which belongs to another person and was outside the vicious/dangerous animal’s enclosure at the time of the killing or wounding; or

The vicious/dangerous animal attacks, assaults, bites, or otherwise injures any human being while out of the enclosure of the owner, whether [or not] the vicious/dangerous animal escaped without fault of the owner, and whether or not the vicious/dangerous animal was on a leash and securely muzzled.