(A) Every animal which bites a person shall be promptly reported to the animal control authority. The report must include the name and address of the victim and of the animal’s owner, if known; and any other information that may help in locating the victim or animal. Upon receipt of such report the animal control authority shall thereupon be securely quarantined at the direction of the Animal Control Department for a period of ten days and shall not be released from the quarantine except by written permission of the animal control authority. In the discretion of the animal control authority, such quarantine may be on the premises of the owner, at the shelter designated as the city animal shelter or, at the owner’s option and expense, in a veterinary hospital of his choice. In the case of stray animals or of animals whose ownership is not known, such quarantine shall be at the shelter designated as the city animal shelter.
(B) The owner, upon demand by the animal control authority, shall forthwith surrender any animal which has bitten a human or which is suspected of having been exposed to rabies, of supervised quarantine at the owner’s expense. The animal may be reclaimed by the owner if adjudged free of rabies upon payment of fees and compliance set forth in division (D) of this section and upon compliance with licensing provisions set forth in § 90.03.
(C) If a veterinarian determines that a quarantined animal does not show the clinical signs of rabies, the veterinarian or local rabies control authority shall release the animal to its owner when the quarantine period ends if:
(1) The owner has an unexpired rabies vaccination certificate for the animal; or
(2) The animal is vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian at the owner’s expense.
(D) If a veterinarian determines that a quarantined animal shows the clinical signs of rabies, the veterinarian or local rabies control authority shall humanely destroy the animal. If the animal dies or is destroyed while in quarantine, the veterinarian or local rabies control authority shall remove the head or brain of the animal and submit it to the nearest department laboratory for testing.
(E) The owner of the animal that is quarantined under this chapter shall pay to the veterinarian or local rabies control authority the reasonable costs of the quarantine and disposition of the animal. The veterinarian or local rabies control authority may bring suit to collect those costs. The city in which the veterinarian is located may reimburse the veterinarian in a reasonable amount set by the city for the costs of the quarantine and disposition of the animal whose owner is unable to pay.
(F) When one or both reports give a positive diagnosis of rabies, the animal control authority, and upon the invoking of such quarantines, no animal shall be taken into the streets, permitted to be in the streets or be taken or shipped from the city without written permission of the animal control authority during the period of quarantine.
(G) The quarantine remains in affect until the 181st day after the date on which the last case of rabies is diagnosed in a dog, cat, or other animal species that caused the local rabies control authority to declare quarantine unless the local rabies control authority removes the quarantine before that date.
(H) No person shall kill, or caused to be killed, any rabid animal, any animal suspected of having been exposed to rabies or any such animal that has bitten a human, except as herein provided. No such animal shall be removed from the city limits without written permission from the Animal Control Department.
(I) A person commits an offense if the person fails or refuses to quarantine or present for quarantine or testing an animal that is required to be placed in quarantine or presented for testing under division (B) of this section.
(J) It shall be the duty of every licensed veterinarian to report to the Animal Control Department his or her diagnosis of any animal observed by him or her as a rabies suspect.
(K) Every person who owns, keeps, harbors or has control over any dog or cat in the city over the age of three months in the city before obtaining a license for such dog as required by § 90.03 shall have the dog and any cat vaccinated with an anti-rabies vaccine. All such dogs and cats shall be vaccinated against rabies annually.
(L) All veterinarians who are licensed to practice in this county shall be appointed registrars of the city and shall register each dog or cat that receives a rabies vaccination if the dog or cat is to be kept within the city.
(M) The provisions of this section shall in no way be construed to limit the City Health Officer from establishing clinics for the purpose of vaccinating dogs and cats, and to charge for vaccine in an amount not to exceed that allowed under the state statutes or regulations.
(N) The city council shall designate an officer to act as the local health authority for purposes of this chapter.
(O) The officer designated as the local health authority may be the municipal health officer, animal control officers, peace officer, or any entity that the city council considers appropriate whether employed in a public or private sector.
(P) While the quarantine is in affect, the rules adopted by the local rabies control authority supersede all other applicable ordinances or rules applying to the quarantine area and apply until the local rabies control authority removes the quarantine by declaration or until the rules expire or are revoked by the local rabies control authority.
(Q) A person commits an offense if the person fails or refuses to have each dog or cat owned by the person vaccinated against rabies and the animal is required to be vaccinated under ordinances or rules adopted under this chapter; or V.T.C.A. Health and Safety Code § 826.021.
(Ord. 14-09, passed 10-12-2009)