Dog Owner’s Legal Obligations in Texas

Dogs are man’s best friend for a reason, but even the smallest little tyrant’s bite can still pack a punch. Choosing to own a pet carries legal obligations that every Texan should be aware of, and every non-dog owner should also be aware so they know their rights if the worst happens. Dogs are awesome, and having a guard dog to alert you to danger, be a companion and a friend, is the best, but it's important that you choose ownership knowing the responsibilities owed to society.

In Texas, strict liability, negligence, and criminal penalties can cause serious issues for a dog owner. Owners have a responsibility to ensure that their pet does not cause harm, or threaten to cause harm, to others, to keep them leashed and fenced, and to care for them. If your dog is an escape artist, an owner is obligated to know this and take appropriate measures to prevent it.

iStock/credit: Arkady_

Classification as a Dangerous Dog

If your dog has been classified as a dangerous dog, your obligations to protect others from your dog increase.

The Texas Health and Safety Code defines a "dangerous dog" as a dog that (A) makes an unprovoked attack on a person that causes bodily injury and occurs in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog was being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own; or (B) commits unprovoked acts in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog was being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own and those acts cause a person to reasonably believe that the dog will attack and cause bodily injury to that person. Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 822.041(2).

Within thirty days of learning that a dog has been declared to be a dangerous dog under this ordinance, the dog owner must, among other things, restrain the dangerous dog at all times on a leash in the immediate control of a person or in a secure enclosure. Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 822.042(a)(2).

If you fail to comply with the statute, a court can order seizure of your dog, and upon continued non-compliance, can have your dog put down. 

It’s important to note that your dog does not have to cause injury to be classified as dangerous – case law has held up the standard that reasonable belief that it will cause hard is enough.

Once your dog meets the criteria for a dangerous dog, then within 30 days you are required to:

1.     Register the dog with the local animal control authority.

2.     Restrain the dog at all times, either on a leash that is under the immediate control of a person or in a secure enclosure that meets statutory requirements.

3.     Obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility in the amount of $100,000 minimum to cover future bodily injury damages, and provide proof of the same to the local authority.

4.     Comply with any further local regulations or requirements.

If you fail to comply, you once again will be required to surrender the dog, and will have 11 days after seizure or surrender to comply or it will be humanely put down.    Further, penalties for noncompliance or future attacks include Class C or B misdemeanors.  Therefore, it’s crucial for your dog to be enclosed and unable to escape and threaten or injure people.