Hidalgo County, TX Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Texas Health & Safety Code §826.033 authorizes a county Commissioners Court to adopt rules requiring restraint of dogs and cats in unincorporated areas, declaring stray animals a public nuisance, and authorizing impoundment by the local rabies control authority. Hidalgo County operates Animal Control Services to recover stray, injured, and deceased dogs and cats in unincorporated areas (outside city limits); the program does not cover livestock, wildlife, or animals inside city jurisdictions. Statewide, HSC §822.042 requires owners of dogs declared 'dangerous' (after an attack causing bodily injury) to securely enclose the dog, restrain it on a leash and muzzle in public, register it with the local animal control authority, and maintain at least $100,000 in liability coverage. HSC §822.005 makes it a felony if a dangerous dog attacks and causes serious bodily injury or death. HSC §822.044 makes failure to comply with dangerous-dog requirements a Class C misdemeanor (Class B on a second violation). Cities within Hidalgo County (McAllen, Edinburg, Pharr, Mission) maintain their own leash and animal-control ordinances that apply inside city limits.