The Dog The Pound Picked Up
Health & Safety 826.033 — the impoundment period is set by each city or county
Set locally. A city or county may adopt rules requiring that dogs and cats be restrained, that unrestrained ones be impounded by the local rabies control authority, that each stray be impounded for a period set by ordinance or rule, and that unclaimed strays be humanely disposed of when that period ends.
The fee. The enforcing agency may set a fee for impoundment and board during the impoundment period, and the owner pays it before the animal is released.
The holding period itself is in the local ordinance, not the state statute. Dangerous dog proceedings, bite quarantines, and local fee schedules are set out elsewhere and are not on this page. What a particular shelter's hours or fees are is a question for that shelter or a licensed Texas attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- Health & Safety 826.033 — Restraint, impoundment, and disposition of dogs and cats
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Texas attorney.