In this chapter:
(1) ADOPTER means a person who adopts an animal from an animal shelter or an animal adoption agency.
(2) ADOPTION AGENCY means an animal welfare organization or animal placement group approved by the director to take impounded dogs and cats from animal services for adoption to the public.
(3) ANIMAL means any nonhuman vertebrate.
(4) ANIMAL SERVICES means the department so designated by the director for the purpose of animal care and control and enforcement of this chapter.
(5) ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER means an employee of animal services whose duty it is to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(6) ANIMAL SHELTER means a city-owned and operated animal shelter facility established for the impoundment, quarantine, care, adoption, euthanasia, and other disposition of unwanted, loose, diseased, or vicious animals.
(7) ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANIZATION means a non-profit organization incorporated under state law and exempt from federal taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, as amended, and whose principal purpose is the prevention of cruelty to animals and whose principal activity is to rescue sick, injured, abused, neglected, unwanted, abandoned, orphaned, lost, or displaced animals and to adopt them to good homes.
(8) AUTHORIZED REGISTRAR means a person issued written permission by the director to register dogs and cats in compliance with this chapter.
(8.1) BODILY INJURY means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition.
(9) CHIEF OF POLICE means the head of the police department of the city of Dallas or a designated representative.
(10) COMPETITION CAT means a pedigreed cat not used for breeding that:
(A) is of a breed recognized by and registered with an approved cat breed registry, such as the American Cat Fanciers Association, the Cat Fanciers' Association, the International Cat Association, or any other cat breed registry approved by the director; and
(B) competes in cat shows or other competition events sponsored by an approved cat breed registry.
(11) COMPETITION DOG means a pedigreed dog not used for breeding that:
(A) is of a breed recognized by and registered with an approved dog breed registry, such as the American Kennel Club, the United Kennel Club, the American Dog Breeders Association, or any other dog breed registry approved by the director; and
(B) shows or competes in a confirmation, obedience, agility, carting, herding, protection, rally, sporting, working, or other event sponsored by an approved dog breed registry.
(12) CONTACT INFORMATION means the owner's name, mailing address, telephone number, and electronic mail address, if any.
(13) CONVICTION means a conviction in a federal court or a court of any state or foreign nation or political subdivision of a state or foreign nation that has not been reversed, vacated, or pardoned. "Conviction" includes disposition of charges against a person by probation, deferred adjudication, or deferred disposition.
(14) CURRENTLY VACCINATED means vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian, with a rabies vaccine licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and:
(A) not more than 12 months have elapsed since the animal's most recent vaccination date, if the most recent vaccination was with a one-year rabies vaccine or was the animal's initial vaccination; or
(B) not more than 36 months have elapsed since the animal's most recent vaccination date, if the most recent vaccination was with a three-year rabies vaccine and the animal is a dog or cat that has received at least two vaccinations.
(15) DIRECTOR means the director of the department designated by the city manager to perform the duties assigned in this chapter or the director's authorized representative.
(16) DOMESTIC ANIMAL means:
(A) a dog;
(B) a cat;
(C) a ferret;
(D) any bird, other than one in the Falconiforms or Strigiforms Order, that is commonly kept as a human's companion;
(E) any "pocket pet," such as a mouse, hamster, gerbil, guinea pig, or rabbit, that is commonly kept as a human's companion;
(F) any fish, such as a goldfish or tropical fish, that is commonly kept as a human's companion; and
(G) any non-venomous and non- constrictor reptile or amphibian that is commonly kept as a human's companion.
(17) EUTHANASIA means to put an animal to death in a humane manner.
(18) FENCED YARD means an area that is completely surrounded by a substantial fence of sufficient strength, height, construction, materials, and design as to prevent:
(A) any animal confined within from escaping; or
(B) the head of a dog confined within from extending over, under, or through the fence.
(19) FERAL CAT means any homeless, wild, or untamed cat.
(20) LICENSED VETERINARIAN means a person licensed to practice veterinary medicine within the United States, or an authorized representative under that person's direct supervision.
(21) LIVESTOCK means any fowl, horse, mule, burro, ass, cattle, sheep, swine, goat, llama, emu, ostrich, or other common farm animal.
(22) LOOSE means an unrestrained domestic animal or livestock that is outside the boundaries of the premises owned, leased, or legally occupied by the animal's owner.
(23) MICROCHIP means a passive electronic device that is injected into an animal by means of a pre-packaged sterilized implanting device for purposes of identification and/or the recovery of the animal by its owner.
(24) ONE-YEAR RABIES VACCINE means a rabies vaccine labeled and licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as immunizing a dog, cat, or ferret against rabies for one year.
(25) OWN means to have legal right of possession or to otherwise have care, custody, possession, or control of an animal.
(26) OWNER means any person owning, harboring, or having care, custody, possession, or control of an animal. An occupant of any premises on which a dog or cat remains, or customarily returns to, is an owner for purposes of this chapter. If a person under the age of 17 years owns an animal, the parent, legal guardian, or head of the household is the owner for purposes of this chapter. There may be more than one owner for an animal.
(27) PERMITTEE means a person issued a breeding permit under Section 7-4.11 of this chapter.
(28) PERSON means an individual or group of individuals acting in concert, a firm, partnership, association, corporation, or other legal entity.
(29) PET means a domestic animal to be kept as a human's companion.
(30) PROHIBITED ANIMAL means:
(A) a "dangerous wild animal" as that term is defined in Section 822.101 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended;
(B) a margay, badger, wolf, dingo, elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, non-human primate (other than a spider monkey or capuchin), crocodile, alligator, caiman, gavial, venomous amphibian or reptile, racer, boa (other than a red-tail boa), water snake, python (other than a ball python), hawk, eagle, vulture, and owl; and
(C) any hybrid of an animal listed in Paragraph (A) or (B) of this subsection (other than a dog-wolf hybrid).
(31) PROPERLY FITTED means, with respect to a collar or harness used for a dog, a collar or harness that:
(A) does not impede the dog's normal breathing or swallowing; and
(B) is attached to the dog in a manner that does not allow for escape and does not cause injury to the dog.
(32) PROTECTIVE CUSTODY means the holding of an animal in a city animal shelter:
(A) due to the arrest, eviction, hospitalization, or death of the animal's owner;
(B) pursuant to a court order; or
(C) at the request of a law enforcement agency.
(33) REGULATED ANIMAL means any animal other than a prohibited animal, livestock, or domestic animal.
(34) RETAIL PET STORE means a business that regularly sells animals for pet purposes to an ultimate owner. The term includes any owner, operator, agent, or employee of the business.
(35) SERVICE ANIMAL means:
(A) 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
(B) any trained animal used by a governmental agency in police and rescue work.
(36) TETHER means restraining an animal or the act of chaining, tying, fastening, or otherwise securing an animal to a fixed point so that it can move or range only within certain limits.
(37) TETHERING DEVICE means a cable, chain, cord, leash, rope, or other means of attaching an animal to a stationary object.