1965-039 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, PROVIDING FOR VACCINATION AND
LICENSING OF DOGS AND PROVIDING FEES THEREFORE
PROVIDING FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF AN ANIMAL CONTROL
OFFICER AND PRESCRIBING HIS POWERS AND DUTIES AUTH-
ORIZING THE IMPOUNDING AND DESTRUCTION OF DOGS, MAKING
IT UNLAWFUL TO PERMIT OR ALLOW ANY VICIOUS, FIERCE OR
DANGEROUS DOG TO BE AT LARGE, MAKING IT UNLAWFUL TO
PERMIT OR ALLOW ANY UNSPAYED FEMALE DOG IN HEAT TO BE
AT LARGE, SPECIFICALLY REPEALING CERTAIN ORDINANCES
PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, PRESCRIBING A PENALTY FOR
VIOLATION THEREOF, DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND ORDERING
ITS PUBLICATION.
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS
SECTION I.
That the Code of Ordinances of the Clty of Denton, Texas,
is hereby amended by substituting new Article 3 01 zn Chapter
Three of said Code of Ordinances which shall hereafter read as
follows
ARTICLE 3 01 DOGS
(a) It shall be the duty of the owner or keeper of each
and every animal which isa member of the canine family,
hereinafter referred to as dog, owned, kept, possessed,
harbored or allowed upon the premises of any such person
or entity and under his control an the City of Denton,
Texas, to have such dog vaccinated against rabies by a
legally licensed veterinarian at least once each year
Vaccination ~s defined as a protective inoculation
against rabies by lnooulatlon with antzrab~c vaccine
recognized and approved by the U S Department of
Agriculture given zn an amount sufficient to provide
an immunity
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person or entity within
the llmlts of the C~ty of Denton, Texas, to own, keep,
possess, harbor or to allow to remain upon premises
under h~s control, any dog, (male, female or altered)
of the age of slx (6) months or over without having
secured a license therefor as hereinafter provided,
or to allow any dog under the age of s~x (6) months to
run at large without a rabies vaccination and license
as herein provided
(c) The fee for such license shall be $2 00 per year for
each dog, payable in advance, such fee to be due and
payable on or before the first day of January of each
year hereafter All licenses issued hereunder shall
expire December 31, and any part of any calendar year
shall be deemed and considered the entire year Lic-
enses for the ensuing year may be issued on and after
' November 1 of the preceding year, and shall be effec-
tive during said ensuing calendar year
(d) No license shall be issued for any dog unless said
dog shall have first been vaccinated agalnst rabies
by a legally l~censed veterinarian as here~nabove
provided within thlrty (30) days prior to the issuance
of such license There shall be exhibited to the
Director of F~nance of the C~ty of Denton, Texas, prior
to the lssuance of such license, a certificate signed
by a legally l~censed veterinarian reflecting that
sald dog has been duly vaccinated against rabies and
glvlng the date of the vaccination thereof, and there-
after, upon payment of the fee as above provided, the
D~rector of Flnance shall then ~ssue a license for
said dog
(e) Upon payment of such license fee as provided herein,
the Director of Finance shall issue a receipt, license
and numbered tag to the person applying therefore
The D~rector of Finance shall keep a register of all
l~censes issued in which shall be entered the name and
address of the applicant, description of the dog, and
the date of ~ssuance and expiration It shall be the
duty of the owner or keeper of each dog to apply for
such l~cense, pay the fee for same and obtain a tag
therefor, and to have and to keep said tag at all times
during the year securely fastened to a collar or har-
ness worn by such dog, and the failure of the owner or
keeper in th~s respect shall have the same effect as
if no l~cense had been s~cured for said dog
(f) It shall be the duty of the owner or keeper of any
dog to procure a substitute tag from the Director of
F~nance ~n the event the original tag is lost or des-
troyed, and the Director of Finance shall issue a
substltute tag upon application of any person who has
complied w~th the provisions of this ordinance and
upon the payment of Fifty Cents ($ 50) for the cost
of ~ssulng the substitute tag
(g) The Clty Manager shall appoint for a per~od to be ter-
minated at his pleasure a qualified person to act in
the capacity of animal control officer, and for h~s
services the an~mel control officer shall receive such
compensation as shall be fixed by the City Council
Nothing hereln shall prevent the appointment as animal
control officer a person otherwise employed by the
C~ty of Denton
(h) It shall be the duty of the animal control officer or
any pollce officer of the City of Denton, Texas, to
take up any dog or dogs found running at large in
violation of this ordinance w~thln the l~mlts of the
Clty of Den~ and conflne such dog or dogs ~n the city
pound for three (3) days, during which tl~ the owner
or keeper of such dog upon satisfactory proof of h~s
right to possession thereof, may redeem sa~d dog upon
the payme~of a pound fee of $3 00 plus a sustenance
charge of flfty c~Rts ($ 50) per day or any part of
a day said dog shall have been conf~nded as well as
all other fees provided by this ordinance The animal
control officer shall provide at the cost of the City
suitable and necessary sustenance for all dogs so
impounded
(~) If the owner or keeper of any dog so ~mpounded shall
not apply for redemption of sa~d dog and pay such
fees as here~n provided wlthln three {3) days from
the time such dog is confined in the City Pound,
such dog shall be destroyed humanely by or under the
direction of the Chief of Police
(]) If any pe~n shall make written complaint before the
City Manager, City Attorney or Judge of the Corpora-
t~on Court that any dog has bitten any person wlthln
the limits of the City of Denton, ~t shall be the
duty of the Chief of Police to dlrect the owner or
keeper of said dog to keep said dog securely confined
so as to abselu~elF_prevent sa~d dog from being an
contact with person or animal for not less than ten
consecutive days and to release said dog only upon
written permission of the City Health Offlcer, or to
keep said dog confined at a veterinary hospital for
the same period of t~me at the expense of the owner
or keeper, and the failure of such owner or keeper
to comply with such directions shall be deemed a
misdemeanor and punishable by the penalty provided in
th~s ordinance
(k) Any dog suffering a bite from a rabid animal or which
displays symptoms of rabies shall be quarantined in
a veterinary establlshme~ at the owner's expense for
a period of at least slx months thereafter or shall
be confined for such period in such other place and
manner as may he approved by the C1ty Health Officer
in writing, provided, that ~f the owner or keeper of
any such dog can not be readily identified or located
after reasonable diligence, upon wrltten dlreclton of
the C~ty Health Officer, such dog shall be destroyed
humanely by or under the d~rect~on of the Chief of
Police
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to permit or allow
any vicioust fierce or dangerous dog owned, possessed,
kept or harbored by him to be at large on any street,
sidewalk, alley or other public premises or on private
premises not under the control of such person, wlthln
the limits of the City of Denton, Texas, whether a
license for such dog shall have been secured or not,
and proof of the fact that said dog has attacked or
bitten any person or animal at any place where such
p~mOM or animal ia ~egally entitled to be shall be
prima facle evidence that such dog is v~clous, fierce
and dangerous wlthln the meaning of this ordinance
(m} It shall be unlawful for any person to permit or allow
any unspayed female dog while such dog is in heat,
owned, possessed, kept or harbored by hlm to be at
large on any street, sidewalk, alley or other public
place or on private premises not under the control of
such person, w~thln the limits of the City of Denton,
Texas, whether a license for such dog shall have been
secured or not
(n) Any person violating any of the provisions of th~s
ordinance, or any person who shall neglect, fa~l or
refuse to comply with the terms thereof, shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
thereof shall be fined any sum not exceedIng One
Hundred Dollars ($100 00), and each and every day of
such violation shall be deemed a separate and complete
offense
(o) Whenever the City Health Officer shall determine that
it is in the interest of the safety of the public to
do so, he shall issue a proclamation declaring an
emergency and prohibiting dogs to run at large for a
period of ninety (90) days And such proclamation
shall be published in the official newspaper of this
city for one (1) publication During the period of
ninety (90) days subsequent to any such publication,
it shall be unlawful for any owner of any dog to allow
said dog to run at large The penal provision of this
Artacle applaes hereto
~ECTION II
This ordanance shall be and at is hereby declared to be
cumula, tave of all other ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas,
and shall not operate to repeal any such ordinance or ordinances
(except those herelnabove expressly repealed) except ansofar as
the provaslons of such other ordinance or ordinances are incon-
sistent or in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance, in
which anstance or instances those provaszons shall be hereby
repealed
If any sectaon, part or provlsaons of thas ordinance is
declared unconstitutional or anvalad, then, in that event, at is
expressly provaded, and it Ks the intention of the City Councal
in passing this ordanance, that all other parts of thas ordin-
ance shall not be affected thereby and shall remain in full force
and effect
SECTION IV
That this ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14)
days from the date of its passage, and the City Secretary is
hereby directed to cause the caption of this ordinance to be
published twice in the Denton Record Chronicle within ten (10)
days of the date of its passage
A D 1965
Warren Whltson, Jr , Mayor
City of Denton, Texas
ATTEST
~~ C~ty Secretary
C~ty of Denton, Texas
APPROVED A~ TO LEGAL FORM