Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.046 · Subchapter D. DANGEROUS DOGS
DEFENSE.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) It is a defense to prosecution under Section 822.044 or Section 822.045 that the person is a veterinarian, a peace officer, a person employed by a recognized animal shelter, or a person employed by the state or a political subdivision of the state to deal with stray animals and has temporary ownership, custody, or control of the dog in connection with that position.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Section 822.044 or Section 822.045 that the person is an employee of the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or a law enforcement agency and trains or uses dogs for law enforcement or corrections purposes.
(c) It is a defense to prosecution under Section 822.044 or Section 822.045 that the person is a dog trainer or an employee of a guard dog company under Chapter 1702, Occupations Code.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 916, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, Sec. 14.809, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
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 ae124e2ee3a027c50afbc61dd7b280c66bb0b757cf4bac0e906ca6be62d284fe
- 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
This section cites
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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.