(A) Not later than the seventh day after a person learns that the person is the owner of a dangerous dog, the person shall:
(1) Register the dangerous dog with the animal control authority for the area in which the dog is kept;
(2) Restrain the dangerous dog at all times on a leash in the immediate control of a person or in a secure enclosure;
(3) Obtain liability insurance coverage or show financial responsibility in an amount of at least $100,000 to cover damages resulting from an attack by the dangerous dog causing bodily injury to a person and provide proof of the required liability insurance coverage or financial responsibility to the animal control authority for the area in which the dog is kept; and
(4) Comply with an applicable municipal regulation, requirement or restriction on dangerous dogs.
(B) The owner of a dangerous dog who does not comply with division (A) above shall deliver the dog to the animal control authority not later than the thirtieth day after the owner learns that the dog is a dangerous dog.
(C) If, on application of any person, a Municipal Court finds, after notice and hearing as provided by § 90.32, that the owner of a dangerous dog has failed to comply with divisions (A) or (B) above, the court shall order the animal control authority to seize the dog and shall issue a warrant authorizing the seizure. The authority shall seize the dog or order its seizure and shall provide for the impoundment of the dog in secure and humane conditions.
(D) The owner shall pay any cost or fee assessed by the municipality or county related to the seizure, acceptance, impoundment or destruction of the dog. The governing body of the municipality may prescribe the amount of the fees.
(E) The court shall order the animal control authority to humanely destroy the dog if the owner has not complied with division (A) above before the eleventh day after the date on which the dog is seized or delivered to the authority. The court shall order the authority to return the dog to the owner if the owner complies with division (A) above before the eleventh day after the date on which the dog is seized or delivered to the authority.
(F) The court may order the humane destruction of a dog if the owner of the dog has not been located before the fifteenth day after the seizure and impoundment of the dog.
(G) For purposes of this section, a person learns that the person is the owner of a dangerous dog when:
(1) The owner knows of an attack described in Tex. Health and Safety Code § 822.041(2)(A) or (B);
(2) The owner receives notice that a Municipal Court has found that the dog is a dangerous dog under § 90.32; or
(3) The owner is informed by the animal control authority that the dog is a dangerous dog under § 90.31.
(Ord. 12-071, passed 10-15-2012)