Kyle, TX Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Kyle City Code § 5-42 requires that all residents' dogs and cats, four months of age and older, be implanted with a microchip registered with the owner's current information. Anyone who newly acquires a dog or cat, or who moves into Kyle with one, has 30 days to get the animal microchipped and registered. The rule exempts mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, ferrets, fowl, and snakes from the citywide identification requirement, but dogs and cats are singled out for the microchip mandate specifically.

The animal control division can excuse an animal from microchipping only if a licensed veterinarian determines in writing that the animal is medically unsuitable; in that case the animal must instead be permanently tattooed, and the owner must report the tattoo number and contact information to the animal control division within 30 days, updating it whenever it changes. The code lists specific defenses to prosecution: a foster animal already microchipped to the responsible rescue organization, a nonresident keeping the animal in Kyle fewer than 30 days, an owner who has lived in the city fewer than 30 days, or an abandoned or lost animal in a temporary custodian's care for fewer than 30 days.

The section closes by making clear that microchipping does not authorize letting a dog run loose: it is not a substitute for the separate leash and at-large rules in § 5-122. The microchip requirement also ties into Kyle's licensing program under § 5-43, since a lifetime license is only available once a dog or cat is microchipped, registered, and spayed or neutered.