QUESTION: The city of Longview is considering a spay-neuter ordinance. My husband was recently bitten by a dog while he was out on a run. This house has previously had multiple calls about loose dogs, and the dog has bitten people before. It was quarantined and then released to the owner, but the dogs are still loose.
The city says it can’t do anything because dogs are considered property and that it can only take the dog if someone is killed or loses a limb.
Why can the city require owners to spay/neuter dogs but not do anything about dogs that are biting people?
ANSWER: It comes down to state law.
You told me the address of the home this dog belongs to, so city spokesman Richard Yeakley was able to update me on how the city’s animal services office is dealing with this overall situation.
“Animal services are familiar with that address, and that property and those animals. It’s an active case they’re still working on,” he said, including filing charges related to that situation.
And you’re right, he did say that the state considers animals as people’s property, and state law determines when an animal can be seized from a property owner.
Chapter 822 of the state’s Health and Safety Code deals with the regulation of animals. Here’s what it says about the seizure of a “dog causing death (a) A justice court, county court, or municipal court shall order the animal control authority to seize a dog and shall issue a warrant authorizing the seizure:
(1) on the sworn complaint of any person, including the county attorney, the city attorney, or a peace officer, that the dog has caused the death of or serious bodily injury to a person by attacking, biting, or mauling the person; and
(2) on a showing of probable cause to believe that the dog caused the death of or serious bodily injury to the person as stated in the complaint.
(b) The animal control authority shall seize the dog or order its seizure and shall provide for the impoundment of the dog in secure and humane conditions until the court orders the disposition of the dog.
“There are criteria that would allow us to seize the animal if it reached a certain threshold. Our animal control officers do not feel this has reached that level,” Yeakley said.
That does not mean, however, that the city isn’t doing anything about the situation
Animal control has been “proactively” working wit the property owner. That includes filing charges where appropriate and providing the dogs’ owner with tethers and leashes to help keep the animals on the property.
“It is an ongoing project to work with the property owner to make sure they are in-line with both local and state regulations,” Yeakley said.
Also, he said animal services personnel haven’t had difficulty entering the property or talking to the property owner. That dogs haven’t been posing an active threat to them, he said.
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