Hidalgo County, TX Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcement
- HCHHS Environmental Health
- State authority
- H&S Code Sec. 826.033
- Scope
- Unincorporated areas only
- Shelter
- Palm Valley Animal Society
- Report line
- (956) 383-0111 / 0112
Summary
In unincorporated Hidalgo County, dogs are controlled through the county's Rabies Control Authority and Texas law rather than a published municipal leash code. Texas Health and Safety Code Sec. 826.033 lets counties require restraint and impound stray or unrestrained dogs and cats.
Sec. 822.007. LOCAL REGULATION OF DOGS. This subchapter does not prohibit a municipality or county from adopting leash or registration requirements applicable to dogs. ... Sec. 822.012. CERTAIN DOGS AND COYOTES PROHIBITED FROM RUNNING AT LARGE; CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) The owner, keeper, or person in control of a dog or coyote that the owner, keeper, or person knows is accustomed to run, worry, or kill livestock, domestic animals, or fowls may not permit the dog or coyote to run at large. (b) A person who violates this section commits an offense. An offense under this subsection is punishable by a fine of not more than $100. (c) Each time a dog or coyote runs at large in violation of this section constitutes a separate offense.
Full Breakdown
Hidalgo County's animal control is run by the Health and Human Services Environmental Health Division, the county's local Rabies Control Authority under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 826. County Animal Control Officers recover stray dogs and cats only in unincorporated areas and deliver strays to the Palm Valley Animal Society shelter in Edinburg. No standalone leash ordinance is published online, so restraint duties flow from state law: Sec. 826.033 lets a county require that each dog or cat be restrained by its owner, declare each stray a public nuisance, and have each unrestrained dog or cat detained or impounded by the local rabies control authority. Keep dogs leashed; a loose dog off your property may be impounded.
Violations & Fines
A stray or unrestrained dog may be detained or impounded by the local rabies control authority under Sec. 826.033 and delivered to the Palm Valley shelter; the owner pays fees to reclaim it. Rabies and quarantine duties are separately enforced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who enforces animal control in unincorporated Hidalgo County?
Does Hidalgo County require dogs to be leashed?
Where are stray dogs taken?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hidalgo County
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Hidalgo County to another location·View the Texas animal ordinances overview
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