When used in this chapter the following words and terms unless the context indicates a different meaning, shall be interpreted as follows:
ABANDONMENT. Abandoning an animal in the person's custody without making reasonable arrangements for assumption of custody by another person.
ANIMAL. Any warm-blooded vertebrate creature, domestic or wild, excluding the human species.
ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER. Any person designated by the Supervisor of Animal Control, the City Council, or the Chief of Police, to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
CAT. A domestic feline of either sex, including one neutered or sterilized.
DANGEROUS ANIMAL.
(1) Any animal which because of its physical nature and vicious propensity is capable of inflicting serious physical harm or death to human beings and would constitute a danger to human life or property; or
(2) Any animal which has behaved in such manner that the owner thereof knows or should reasonably know that the animal is possessed of tendencies to attack or bite human beings or other animals; or
(3) Any animal certified by a doctor of veterinary medicine, after observation thereof, as posing a danger to human life, animal life, or property upon the basis of a reasonable medical probability; or
(4) Any animal that commits an unprovoked attack on a person or animal on public or private property. An "unprovoked" attack by an animal shall mean that the animal was not hit, kicked, or struck 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; or
(5) Any individual domestic animal of any species that has on a previous occasion or occasions, without provocation, attacked any person or other domestic animal.
DOG. A domestic canine of either sex, including one neutered or sterilized.
DOMESTIC ANIMAL. Dog, cat. Does not include hybrid animals resulting from crossing wild with domestic species.
HARBORING. The act of keeping and caring for an animal or of providing a premise to which the animal returns regularly.
LIVESTOCK. Any domestic animal, except a house pet, including, but not limited to, cattle, cows, horses, sheep, swine, goats, chickens, ducks, turkeys or geese.
LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITY. The reporting agent or his designee for the purposes of rabies control, whose duties consist of the following:
(1) Receiving reports of animal bites and scratches to humans;
(2) Receiving reports of suspected rabid animals;
(3) Investigation of reported animals bites and scratches and suspected rabid animals;
(4) Ordering quarantine, if appropriate, of any animal which may have exposed an individual to rabies or which may be rabid;
(5) Enforcement of all ordinances and/or rules of the city pertaining to rabies and animal control; and
(6) Enforcement of the provisions of state law and administrative rules of the Texas Board of Health pertaining to rabies and animal control.
OWNER. Any person, firm, or corporation having title to any animal; or who has, harbors, or keeps, or who causes or permits to be harbored or kept, an animal in his or her care, or who permits an animal to remain on or about his or her premises.
RABIES VACCINATION. The vaccination of a dog, cat or other domestic animal with an anti-rabies vaccine approved by the Texas Department of Health and administered by a veterinarian licensed by the State of Texas.
RUN AT LARGE. Not completely confined by a building, wall, or fence of sufficient strength or construction to restrain the animal except when such animal is either on a leash or held in the hands of the owner or keeper, or under supervision of the owner within the limits of the owner's private property. An animal not under restraint and intruding upon the property of a person other than its owner shall be termed RUNNING AT LARGE. An animal within an automobile or other vehicle of its owner shall not be deemed RUNNING AT LARGE.
SERVICE ANIMAL.
(1) Any guide dog, signal dog or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, and assisting non-ambulatory persons by pulling a wheelchair or fetching dropped items; and
(2) Any trained animal used by a governmental agency in police and rescue work.
STRAY ANIMAL. Any animal for which there is not an identifiable owner or harborer or any animal which does not exhibit evidence of vaccination and/or license.
SUPERVISOR OF ANIMAL CONTROL. The person appointed by the Chief of Police with approval of the City Manager to supervise all aspects of animal control.
WILD ANIMAL. Any poisonous or dangerous reptile, or any other animal which can normally be found in the wild state and not normally capable of being domesticated, including, but not limited to, skunks, foxes, leopards, panthers, tigers, lions, and lynx, unless certified for medical, biological, herpetological or other scientific research or study.
(Ord. 2016-21, passed 10-18-2016; Ord. 2019-18, passed 10-15-2019)