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(a) The provisions of Chapters 823 and 826 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended, are incorporated into this article by reference.
(b) The director is designated as the local rabies control authority for purposes of Chapter 826 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended, and shall perform the duties required of a local rabies control authority under that chapter and under rules adopted by the Texas Board of Health pursuant to that chapter. (Ord. 26024)
The director will develop written policies and procedures for all animal services operations, including standards for city animal shelters; the training of animal services personnel; the care, euthanasia, and disposition of animals in the custody of animal services; the form and maintenance of records relating to impounded animals; and the transfer and adoption of dogs and cats. (Ord. 26024)
(a) The director is authorized to quarantine an animal as provided in Chapter 826 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended, and the rules adopted by the Texas Board of Health under that chapter.
(b) Any person with knowledge of a likely rabies exposure to a human must report the incident to the director as soon as possible after the incident. This requirement does not apply to contact with low-risk animals as defined in 25 TAC §169.22.
(c) An owner of an animal commits an offense if, upon notification by the director that the animal has bitten, scratched, or likely exposed a person to rabies, the owner fails to either:
(1) surrender the animal immediately to the director for quarantine at a city animal shelter;
(2) immediately deliver the animal to a veterinary clinic approved by the director for quarantine at the owner's expense; or
(3) quarantine the animal on the owner's property in a secure enclosure approved by the director. (Ord. Nos. 26024; 30483)
(a) The director or the chief of police is authorized to seize and impound any animal:
(1) in the city that is loose;
(2) for protective custody;
(3) required to be quarantined under Section 7-2.4;
(4) seized pursuant to a warrant or court order;
(5) that is a prohibited animal and kept in the city in violation of Section 7-6.1;
(6) posing a threat to the public health or safety; and
(7) displaying signs and symptoms of extreme health concerns.
(b) If an animal is impounded, except pursuant to Subsection (a)(4) and Section 7-2.6(e), the director shall make a reasonable effort to locate the animal's owner by sending notice using contact information from the animal's vaccination tag, microchip, or other identification. Additionally, the director shall call all telephone numbers listed as part of the contact information.
(1) A notice delivered pursuant to this subsection is deemed to be received on the earlier of the date actually received, or the third day following the date upon which the notice was sent. On the second calendar day following receipt of notice, the animal becomes the sole property of the city and is subject to disposition as the director deems appropriate.
(2) If the director is unable to locate contact information for the animal's owner from the animal's vaccination tag, microchip, or other identification, the director shall hold the animal at an animal shelter for a period of 72 hours, after which the animal becomes the sole property of the city and subject to disposition as the director deems appropriate.
(c) If an animal described in Subsection (a) is on private property, the impounding officer may enter the property for the purpose of impoundment or issuance or a citation, or both.
(d) The director is the designated caretaker of a loose, impounded, or surrendered animal immediately upon intake at the animal shelter.
(e) Visitation of a seized animal is prohibited.
(a) To redeem an impounded animal from a city animal shelter, the owner of the animal must provide proof of ownership and pay to the director the following fees for services rendered before redemption:
(1) on all animals held at least one full day a redemption fee of:
(A) $25 for an animal delivered for impoundment to a city animal shelter by a person other than a city employee in the performance of official duties; or
(B) $25 for an animal delivered for impoundment to a city animal shelter by a city employee in the performance of official duties;
(2) on all animals held at least one full day, $10 for each night the animal is housed in a city shelter;
(3) $10 for a rabies vaccination of a dog, cat, or ferret if the owner cannot show either:
(A) a current certificate of vaccination for the animal; or
(B) a letter from a licensed veterinarian on office stationery dated prior to impoundment stating that the animal was not vaccinated due to health reasons;
(4) $10 for a microchip implant and initial national registration of a dog or cat unless:
(A) the animal was injected with a microchip implant prior to impoundment;
(B) a letter from a licensed veterinarian on office stationery dated prior to impoundment stating the animal should not be injected with a microchip implant for health reasons; and
(5) $40 for sterilization of an animal, unless:
(A) the animal was spayed or neutered prior to impoundment;
(B) the animal is under six months of age;
(C) the owner provides a letter from a licensed veterinarian on office stationery dated prior to impoundment certifying that the animal should not be spayed or neutered for health reasons or is permanently non-fertile as confirmed by a health examination within 90 days prior to impoundment.
(b) The redemption period for an animal impounded in a city animal shelter, other than for quarantine or pursuant to a court order, is:
(1) three days after the date of impoundment, unless Paragraph (2) or (3) of this subsection applies to the animal;
(2) five days after the date of impoundment if:
(A) the animal is wearing a legible tag or has a microchip implant identifying its owner with contact information; or
(B) the director has reason to believe the animal has an owner; or
(3) 10 days after the date of impoundment if the animal is being held for protective custody.
(c) The redemption period for an animal impounded pursuant to a court order is the time set forth in the court order or, if no provision is made in the court order, five days after the court proceedings are final.
(d) Except as provided in Section 7-5.3(c), the redemption period for an animal, with an identified owner, impounded for quarantine is the same day as completion of the quarantine period.
(e) Kitten litters, puppy litters, and mothers nursing litters impounded in the city's animal shelter cannot be redeemed and immediately become the sole property of the city and are subject to disposition as the director deems appropriate.
(f) If an animal is not redeemed within the appropriate time period specified in Subsections (b) through (d), the animal will become the property of the city and may be placed for adoption, euthanized, or otherwise disposed of as recommended by the director.
(a) To adopt a dog or cat from animal services, the adopter shall:
(1) complete and sign an adoption application on a form provided by the director for that purpose;
(2) sign an adoption contract on a form provided by the director for that purpose, which shall include a statement that the adopter agrees that if the adopter fails to comply with a sterilization agreement under Subsection (d), the animal may be seized and impounded by the director and ownership will automatically revert to the city; and
(3) pay to the director a non-refundable adoption fee (which includes, but is not limited to, the costs of any required vaccination, microchip implant, initial national registration, and sterilization) of:
(A) $45 for a dog and $15 for a cat, unless Subparagraph (B) of this paragraph applies to the adoption; or
(B) $21 for a dog and $3 for a cat if:
(i) the dog or cat is at least six years of age, as determined by the director;
(ii) the ultimate owner of the dog or cat will be a person who is 65 years of age or older as of the date of adoption; or
(iii) the adopter adopts two or more dogs and/or cats on the same date and as a part of the same transaction, and the adopter will be the ultimate owner of all of the animals adopted in the transaction.
(b) The director may, from time to time, designate and advertise promotional adoption periods during which the non-refundable adoption fees payable under Subsection (a)(3)(A) will be reduced or waived.
(c) Each dog or cat adopted from animal services will be spayed or neutered prior to release of the animal to the adopter, unless:
(1) the dog or cat is under six months of age; or
(2) a licensed veterinarian certifies that the dog or cat should not be spayed or neutered for health reasons or is permanently non- fertile.
(d) Before an unsterilized dog or cat under the age of six months will be released from animal services for adoption, the adopter must sign a sterilization agreement with the director, complying with Section 828.003 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended, agreeing to:
(1) have the dog or cat spayed or neutered within 30 days after the date of adoption or the date the animal attains six months of age, whichever occurs last; and
(2) furnish to the director, within seven days after the date of sterilization, confirmation complying with Section 828.005 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended, that the animal was spayed or neutered by the completion date required in Paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(e) An adopter who signs a sterilization agreement under Subsection (d) commits an offense if he fails to:
(1) have the adopted dog or cat spayed or neutered within the time period required under Subsection (d)(1); or
(2) furnish confirmation of sterilization as required under Subsection (d)(2).
(f) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (e) if, by the seventh day after the sterilization completion date required in Subsection (d)(1), the director receives from the adopter either:
(1) a letter complying with Section 828.006 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended, stating that the animal is dead; or
(2) a letter complying with Section 828.007 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, as amended, stating that the animal is lost or stolen.
(g) The director may refuse to release a dog or cat for adoption under any circumstances, including, but not limited to:
(1) the prospective adopter or adoption agency has previously violated a provision of this chapter or has been convicted of an animal- related crime;
(2) the prospective adopter or adoption agency has inadequate or inappropriate facilities for confining the animal and for providing proper care to the animal as required by this chapter;
(3) the prospective adoption agency has failed to sign or comply with a transfer agreement with animal services that requires the sterilization of adopted animals or other conditions imposed by the director; or
(4) the director determines that the health, safety, or welfare of the animal or of the public would be endangered.
(h) If an adopter of a dog or cat violates Subsection (e), the director may seize and impound the animal, and ownership of the animal will automatically revert to the city.
(a) The director or chief of police is authorized to kill by appropriate and available means an animal that poses an imminent danger to a person or another animal and a real or apparent necessity exists for destruction of the animal.
(b) The director is authorized to euthanize, or to allow a licensed veterinarian to euthanize, an animal impounded at a city animal shelter if:
(1) the director or a licensed veterinarian determines that euthanasia is necessary to prevent the unnecessary pain and suffering of the animal;
(2) the director or a licensed veterinarian determines that recovery of the animal from injury, disease, or sickness is in serious doubt; or
(3) the animal is not redeemed from a city animal shelter within the applicable time period required under Section 7-2.6 of this chapter.
(c) An animal impounded at a city animal shelter may only be euthanized by using a barbiturate or derivative substance approved for that purpose by the Federal Food and Drug Administration and administered under the direction of a licensed veterinarian. This section does not apply to action authorized by Subsection (a) of this section. (Ord. 26024)