Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.041 · Subchapter D. DANGEROUS DOGS
DEFINITIONS.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
In this subchapter:
(1) "Animal control authority" means a municipal or county animal control office with authority over the area where the dog is kept or a county sheriff in an area with no animal control office.
(2) "Dangerous dog" means 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.
(3) "Dog" means a domesticated animal that is a member of the canine family.
(4) "Secure enclosure" means a fenced area or structure that is:
(A) locked;
(B) capable of preventing the entry of the general public, including children;
(C) capable of preventing the escape or release of a dog;
(D) clearly marked as containing a dangerous dog; and
(E) in conformance with the requirements for enclosures established by the local animal control authority.
(5) "Owner" means a person who owns or has custody or control of the dog.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 916, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.822.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 67f259b76eca233a406045ec0bbd60af7b869ea503a8f16b31d63d509a70c711
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Cited by 5 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.041. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Health and Safety Code
- Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.001DEFINITIONS.Printed as Section 822.041
- Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.0411ANIMAL CONTROL AUTHORITY IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES.Printed as Section 822.041(1)
- Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.042REQUIREMENTS FOR OWNER OF DANGEROUS DOG.Printed as Section 822.041(2)(A)
- Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.0421DETERMINATION THAT DOG IS DANGEROUS.Printed as Section 822.041(2)
- Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.0422REPORTING OF INCIDENT IN CERTAIN COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES.Printed as Section 822.041(2)
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.