Dog Attacks
Health & Safety 822.005 — an owner whose dog's unprovoked attack causes serious bodily injury can face a felony
Texas makes a dog's attack a crime for the owner in two cases, when the unprovoked attack causes serious bodily injury or death to another person:
- The owner, with criminal negligence, failed to secure the dog, and the attack happened somewhere other than the owner's property or the owner's vehicle or boat.
- The owner knew the dog was a dangerous dog, and the attack happened outside a secure enclosure.
A third degree felony, second if someone dies. The offense is a felony of the third degree, and of the second degree if the attack causes death. The court may also order the dog destroyed.
A dangerous dog is one that made an unprovoked attack causing bodily injury, or acted in a way that made a person reasonably believe it would attack, outside an enclosure reasonably certain to hold it. A secure enclosure is locked, keeps the public out and the dog in, is clearly marked, and meets the local animal control rules.
Sources for this section (2)
- Health & Safety 822.005 — Attack by dog
- Health & Safety 822.041 — Definitions for dangerous dogs
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Texas attorney.