(A) The following shall be deemed animals with dangerous or vicious tendencies:
(1) Any animal that inflicts serious bodily injury or death to a person, or bites a person on public or private property;
(2) Any animal that kills a domestic animal without provocation;
(3) Any animal which chases or approaches a person upon the streets, sidewalks, or any public or private property in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack such that the person reasonably believes that the animal will cause physical injury to that person;
(4) Any animal with a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack, cause injury or to otherwise threaten the safety of persons or domestic animals; or
(5) All animals under the definition of the term "wild and exotic animals" in this chapter.
(B) Upon receiving a report concerning a fierce or dangerous animal, and before taking any impoundment action, the Animal Control Officer and police officer shall obtain the following information:
(1) Name, address, and telephone number of complainant;
(2) Date, time, and location of the incident;
(3) A specification of the facts and circumstances of the incident;
(4) A description of the animal;
(5) A sworn statement describing how the animal either bit the complainant or acted in a vicious manner;
(6) The sworn statements of any witnesses; and
(7) Other aggravating facts or circumstances, if any, relating to the incident.
(C) After a sworn affidavit has been obtained, the animal shall be investigated by an Animal Control Officer and a police officer. If they agree that the animal has or is behaving in a fierce or dangerous manner, then, if necessary, the animal can be impounded or quarantined as a public nuisance in addition to any filing of a complaint. If impoundment or quarantine of said animal cannot be made with safety to the Animal Control Officer or other persons, the animal may be destroyed without prior notice to the owner or harborer.
(D) The Animal Control Officer or his or her designee may find and declare an animal to be a dangerous or vicious animal if the Officer has cause to believe that an animal is a dangerous or vicious animal.
(E) The Animal Control Officer or his or her designee will notify the owner of the animal of its designation as a dangerous or vicious animal and of the requirements for the owners of a dangerous or vicious animal as set forth in § 90.007.
(F) The Municipal Court for the City of Tool, Texas shall issue an order to the Animal Control Officer or his or her designee to seize and impound the animal designated as dangerous or vicious, pending a determination hearing. No animal impounded under this section will be returned to the owner until all obligations outlined in § 90.007 have been met.
(G) If the animal is declared to be dangerous or vicious under this section, the notice shall inform the owner of the animal that a determination hearing may be requested to contest the declaration. The request for a hearing must be in writing and must be received by the city within ten days of the date of the declaration. Failure to appeal the declaration within the ten-day period shall result in the Animal Control Officer's or his or her designee's declaration as final.
(H) Any dangerous or vicious animal which, in the determination of the Animal Control Officer or his or her designee, constitutes a clear and present danger to the public safety such that the continued presence of the animal in the city places one or more members of the public in danger of serious bodily injury shall be ordered destroyed.
(Ord. 2016-03, passed 3-17-2016; Ord. 2016-03-A1, passed 1-19-2017; Ord. 2016-03-A2, passed - -; Ord. 2016-03-A2, passed 9-19-2019; Ord. 2016-03; A3, passed 7-20-2023)