Texas Health and Safety Code 822.005 – Attack by Dog
(a) A person commits an offense if the person is the owner of a dog and the person:
(1) with criminal negligence, as defined by § 6.03, Penal Code, fails to secure the dog and the dog makes an unprovoked attack on another person that occurs at a location other than the owner’s real property or in or on the owner’s motor vehicle or boat and that causes serious bodily injury, as defined by § 1.07, Penal Code, or death to the other person; or
(2) knows the dog is a dangerous dog by learning in a manner described by § 822.042(g) that the person is the owner of a dangerous dog, and the dangerous dog makes an unprovoked attack on another person that occurs at a location other than a secure enclosure in which the dog is restrained in accordance with Subchapter D and that causes serious bodily injury, as defined by § 822.001, or death to the other person.
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree unless the attack causes death, in which event the offense is a felony of the second degree.
Terms Used In Texas Health and Safety Code 822.005
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
(c) If a person is found guilty of an offense under this section, the court may order the dog destroyed by a person listed in § 822.004.
(d) A person who is subject to prosecution under this section and under any other law may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.