Texas City, TX Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 95.023 of the Texas City Code of Ordinances is one sentence: no owner or keeper of any dog shall permit the dog to run at large within the corporate limits of the city. What counts as at large comes from § 95.015. A dog is at large when it is not under the control of the owner, or of a person authorized by the owner to care for the dog, either by cord, leash, chain or confinement. Confinement means being within a building or home, or within a fenced yard or premises, so that the dog cannot escape without human assistance. OWNER is defined to include any person keeping or harboring the dog, so the duty reaches a keeper as well as a titleholder. The City Commission wrote the rule for the whole municipality in Galveston County.

Tethering is a separate rule. Section 95.028(A) bars allowing a dog to be tied or chained to dog houses or other stationary objects, and division (B) forbids fastening, chaining or tying any dog on the owner's property, the landlord's property or any property within the limits of the city. Walking a dog on a hand held leash is expressly allowed, and division (E) allows a leash or chain attached to an overhead wire at least ten feet long. A dog confined within a fenced yard must have space based on at least 150 square feet per dog. Where dogs are kept without a fenced yard, the owner must provide an enclosure meeting the same dimensions, built of chain link or similar material with all four sides enclosed, high enough to prevent escape, and covered on top to provide shade and protection from the elements.

The consequences run past the fine. Section 95.020 makes it the duty of city animal control officers to impound dogs found in violation of the subchapter. Under § 95.024, a dog that bites or attempts to bite any person while at large is conclusively presumed to be a dangerous dog, and a dog that attacks or attempts to attack another dog or animal while at large, or chases or attempts to catch a person, is conclusively presumed to be a vicious dog. A police officer of the city can kill a dangerous or vicious dog found at large after the owner has notice, without catching or impounding it.