Midland, TX Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 6-2-2(A), adopted under Ordinance 6804 in 1987 and amended by Ordinance 9383 in 2015, applies to dogs, cats, ferrets, livestock, poultry and other birds or animals, not just dogs, and defines "at large" as not under the control of the owner or someone acting for the owner. 02, making an at-large violation a strict-liability offense: the City does not have to prove the owner knew or intended the animal to escape. Subsection (B) lists four affirmative defenses a defendant can raise. The animal was on a leash, chain, cord or other suitable restraint of six feet or less with enough strength to control it, and, if tied or staked in an open or unfenced lot, kept at least eight feet from any street, alley, park or other public property.

The animal was enrolled in an animal-control-approved obedience class and under the trainer's leash control. The animal was actively being used for hunting. Or the animal was being exhibited at an American Kennel Club-approved show. Absent one of those four defenses, any animal loose and not under an owner's control is at large under the ordinance. The city enforcement agent, Animal Services, may apprehend and impound an animal found at large, and Section 6-2-2(D) authorizes an agent already pursuing a loose animal to follow it onto unenclosed private property to catch it.