The animal regulations as herein established have been made
for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals, and general
welfare of the city. This chapter contains standards regulating the
use, type, location, maintenance, registration, confinement, euthanasia,
and harboring of certain animals. The intent of the regulations, prohibitions,
and provisions is to protect values within the city, to enhance the
quality of life of persons, pets, and other animals, and to protect
the general public from damage and injury that may be caused by unregulated
animals.
(Ordinance 2022-06 adopted 5/23/2022)
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:
A structure that provides the animal with protection from
the elements and be built with dimensions that allow the animal while
in the shelter to stand erect, sit, turn around, and lie down in a
normal position. Plastic air shipping containers and/or pet carriers
shall not be used as outdoor shelters.
An animal rendered permanently sterile and incapable of reproduction
by a licensed veterinarian.
A living creature, including but not limited to any stray
or feral cat or dog, or wild living creature previously captured.
A facility designated and operated by the city and/or contracted
by the city for the purpose of impounding and caring for animals held
under authority of this chapter.
A person designated by the city as the primary enforcement
officer of ordinances regulating animals and owners of animals and
for the enforcement of sections of the state statutes pertaining to
the care and control of animals.
The Texas Board of Health.
Any establishment where dogs, cats, puppies, or kittens are
kept for the primary purpose of boarding for any part of a 24-hour
period. This does not include veterinary clinics where boarding is
offered in addition to clinical services or grooming facilities where
boarding is not offered overnight.
Any person engaged in the business of breeding those animals
for direct or indirect sale or exchange in return for considerations
and the person sells, exchanges or offers to sell more than ten animals
in a calendar year.
A domesticated member of the feline species of animals.
The City of Reno, Parker County, Texas.
A band of material specifically designed to be placed around
the neck of an animal.
A completely enclosed area designed to allow chickens access
to the outdoors while providing protection from predators.
Any warm-blooded mammal which 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 state department of health. A dangerous animal includes any hybrid animal or any pet wildlife which has attacked a human, killed or maimed a domestic animal or a permitted restricted animal as referred to in article 3.08 [article 3.07] of this chapter, or which is apprehended or observed unrestrained. However, this definition shall not apply to dangerous dogs as addressed in article 3.07 of this chapter.
A dog that:
Makes an unprovoked attack on a person, pet animal, livestock
or other animal that causes bodily injury and occurs in a place other
than an enclosure in which the dog is being kept and that was reasonably
certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own;
Commits unprovoked acts in a place other than an enclosure in
which the dog was being kept that was reasonably certain to prevent
the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own, and those acts cause
a person to reasonably believe that the dog will attack and cause
bodily injury to that person, their pet, livestock or fowl; or
Has been previously declared a dangerous dog by the director
of animal services or any equivalent designation made by any governmental
entity or court.
The chief of police or his/her designee.
A domesticated animal that is a member of the canine family.
Any animal whose physiology has been determined or manipulated
through selective breeding and does not occur naturally in the wild
and any animal which can be vaccinated against rabies with an approved
rabies vaccine, and any animal which has an established rabies quarantine
observation period.
Any stray horse, stallion, mare, gelding, filly, colt, mule,
jenny, jack, jennet, hog, pig, sheep, goat, confined and domesticated
hares and rabbits, or any species of cattle.
Any species classified as exotic livestock by the state animal
health commission.
Any animal born or whose natural habitat is outside the continental
United States excluding nonvenomous reptiles and fish.
Financial documents showing $100,000.00 or more in cash to
cover damages resulting from an attack by a dangerous dog.
A person who is entrusted with the care and wellbeing of
an animal from the animal adoption and rescue center, an animal shelter
or a rescue/placement group until the animal can be adopted.
Any animal placed in the temporary custody of the foster
until the animal is deemed ready to be surgically altered, vaccinated,
and adopted. The animal remains the property of the organization from
which it is being fostered from.
All of those birds commonly called poultry, including but
not limited to chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, doves, guineas, swans,
peafowl, pigeons and all the relatives of those birds which can be
kept in pens, coops, cages or enclosure of any kind.
The act of keeping and caring for an animal or of providing
a premise to which the animal returns for food, shelter, or care for
a period of ten days or longer.
A set of straps constructed of nylon, leather, or similar
material specifically designed to restrain or control an animal.
Cattle, sheep, swine or goats commonly raised for human consumption
or a horse, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny; native or nonnative hoofstock
raised under agriculture practices.
The position determined by city council to, among other duties,
enforce local and state rules/ordinances that comprise the minimum
standards for rabies control and enforce the rules for rabies quarantine
as provided in 'Texas Health and Safety Code section 826.045.
Any person, firm, corporation, or department who owns, has
lawful custody or control of an animal. An animal is presumed to be
owned by any person or entity representative who feeds, provides water,
shelters, or restrains the animal. If the "owner" of an animal is
a minor, the parent or guardian of that minor shall be responsible
for compliance with animal control ordinances, damages caused by an
attack sustained by any person or domestic animal, and any determinations,
orders, fines, or civil penalties imposed.
Shall include dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, rodents, birds,
nonpoisonous/nonvenomous reptiles, and other species of animals which
are sold or retained as household pets, but shall not include skunks,
nonhuman primates, and any other species of wild, exotic, or carnivorous
animals that are susceptible to rabies, but not animals that may be
vaccinated for rabies, and that may be further restricted in this
chapter.
Any person or establishment in the business of breeding,
buying, selling at retail or as a broker of animals of any species
for profit-making purposes.
All domesticated fowl and all game birds which are legally
kept in captivity except those classified as exotic livestock/ratites
as defined above.
A house or a building, or structure/pen. The structure/pen
must also have minimum dimensions of five feet by ten feet. The structure/pen
must form an enclosure suitable to prevent entry of young children
and must be locked and secured such that an animal cannot climb, dig,
jump, or otherwise escape of its own volition. The enclosure shall
be securely locked at all times. The structure/pen shall have secure
sides, a secured top and the structure/pen must be attached to a concrete
slab to prevent the dangerous dog from escaping from the enclosure.
The structure/pen shall provide adequate shelter and protection from
the elements for the animal. The structure/pen must also be enclosed
within a secure fence of at least six feet in height and of durable
construction. The animal services division may require additional
accommodations if the need is demonstrated.
With respect to a collar, a collar that measures the circumference
of an animal's neck plus at least one inch as to prevent escape
from the collar.
The following are required:
Animal must be inside an enclosed structure, i.e., house or
garage and must remain there for ten days.
If maintained outside, the animal must be behind a fence from
which it cannot escape from or inside a covered pen or kennel from
which it cannot escape.
Animal must be kept away from other animals and people except
those in the immediate household.
Animal may not be removed from the corporate city limits while
under quarantine.
Owner shall notify the animal services division immediately
if the animal becomes sick or displays any behavioral changes, dies
or disappears.
Owner shall not subject the animal to any medical procedure
without first notifying the animal services division, this too includes
any vaccination.
The vaccination of a dog, cat or ferret with an anti-rabies
vaccine approved by the Texas Department of State Health Services
and administered by a veterinarian licensed by the state.
An organization dedicated to pet adoptions where animals
among other requirements are surgically altered and vaccinated as
part of the adoption process.
A rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device that attaches
to an animal to keep an animal from running at-large. Invisible fencing,
remote control collars, and voice commands are not recognized as proper
restraints for animals.
An animal shall be considered running at-large:
Off premises. Any animal
which is not restrained by means of a leash, or other physical apparatus
of sufficient strength and length to control the actions of such animal
while off premises.
On premises:
Any animal not confined to premises of owner by a substantial
fence of sufficient strength and height to prevent the animal from
escaping therefrom; or secured on the premises by a leash sufficient
in strength to prevent the animal from escaping from premises and
so arranged that the animal will remain upon the premises when the
leash is stretched to full length in accordance with state law, as
amended.
An animal intruding upon the property of another person other
than the owner's property shall be termed "at-large."
Any animal within a vehicle in a manner that would not prevent
that animal's escape or contact with other persons or animals.
Bodily injury caused by an animal which produces severe pain,
trauma, loss of blood or tissue, and which requires medical treatment
of wounds inflicted by the animal, and shall include bodily injury
resulting from victim, whether human or animal, attempting to escape
or prevent contact with an injuring animal.
An attack in which the animal repeatedly bites or vigorously
shakes its victim, and the victim, or a person intervening, has extreme
difficulty terminating the attack.
Any animal, for which there is no identifiable owner or harborer,
which is found to be at-large within the corporate limits of the city.
Any instrument or implementation used to restrain an animal.
An animal not rendered permanently sterile and incapable
of reproduction.
With respect to an attack by an animal, that the animal was
not hit, kicked, or struck by a person with an object or part of a
person's body nor was any part of the animal's body pulled,
pinched, or squeezed by a person.
Any practitioner of veterinary medicine properly licensed
by the state to practice in the state.
An animal which retains its wild nature or is not normally
considered domesticated including, but not limited to, the following:
Class Reptilia: Family
Helodermatidea (the venomous lizards); family Viperidea (rattlesnakes,
pit vipers, and true vipers); family Elapidae (coral snakes, cobras,
and mambas); family Colubridae Dispholidus typus (boomslang); Cyclagras
gigas (water cobra) and Boiga dendrophila (mangrove snake) only; order
Phidia (racers, boas, water snakes, and pythons); order crocodilia
(crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gavials);
Class Aves: Order Falconiforms
(such as hawks, eagles and vultures) and subdivision Ratitae (such
as ostriches, rheas, cassowaries, and emus);
Class Mammalia: Order
Carnivora, family Felidae (such as ocelots, margays, tigers, jaguars,
leopards, and cougars), except commonly accepted domesticated cats;
the family Canidae (such as wolves, dingos, coyotes, and jackals),
except domesticated dogs; family Mustelidae (such as weasels, martins,
mink, and badgers); family Procyonidae (raccoon); family Ursidae (such
as bears); order Marsupialia (such as kangaroos and common opossums);
order Edentata (such as sloths, anteaters, and armadillos); order
Proboscidea (elephants); order Primata (such as monkeys, chimpanzees,
and gorillas); order Rodentia (such as porcupines); and order Ungulata
(such as antelope, deer, bison, and camels);
Class Amphibi: Poisonous
frogs. Does not include nonpoisonous/venomous reptiles or nonpoisonous/venomous
snakes;
Spiders: Brown recluse
(loxosceles) and black widow (latrodecus) spiders.
Any animal which occurs naturally in a wild state. The term
"wildlife" includes any animal which is part wild.
(Ordinance 2022-06 adopted 5/23/2022)
