A New Texas Law: What is the Safe Outdoor Dogs Act?

What is the Safe Outdoor Dogs Act of Texas?

Recently Texas passed a law called the “Safe Outdoor Dogs Act,” which is very important to understand if you are a dog owner seeking to understand how to lawfully and lovingly take care of your pet. Passed in 2021 and put into effect in 2022, the Safe Outdoor Dogs Act had been progressing through the state legislative process for nearly 6 years while supported by the Texas Humane Legislation Network and the state SPCA.

The act largely received bipartisan support in the state legislature, but was shockingly vetoed by Governor Greg Abbott who perceived the law as allowing an unacceptable amount of law enforcement management of pet ownership. Despite this veto the law successfully passed and is now an active law.

The act was framed by supporters as a common sense dog safety law for the state of Texas, largely concerned with the wellbeing of the animals themselves who had historically been abused or mistreated without any regulation in place for dog owner conduct.

What are the major features of the Safe Outdoor Dogs Act?

The act places bounds on the definition of what can be called “safe shelter” for your dog who is kept outside. To decrease the number of dogs who die due to outside exposure, owners are required to provide adequate shelter from the elements in order to be in compliance with the law. This includes protection from weather, standing water, and extreme temperatures.

The act also notably requires access to clean drinking water be provided to dogs who are kept outside. Shockingly this was left out of previous laws, and was a necessary inclusion in this act.

One of the most notable aspects of the act are the newly defined kinds of “safe restraints.” Abolishing the ability to use chains to restrain dogs, the act calls for other means of restraint that are safely attached to a collar or harness. The law also specifies allowed length and material type of restraints.

Finally, and perhaps most controversially, the act strikes down the 24 hour waiting period that law enforcement officers were required to follow before stepping in and rescuing a dog from evidently abusive or dangerous living situations. Now, under the act officers can take immediate action, which is more likely to save a dog’s life.

Overall the Texas Safe Outdoor Dogs Act seeks to improve the quality of dog ownership in the state, and is a well-rounded law that was supported by people across the political spectrum. By following this law, pet owners are ensuring that they care for their dogs in the best way possible.

If you suspect a dog of being mistreated under this law or any other law, contact your local law enforcement immediately. They can provide the swiftest and surest way to prevent further harm to the animal. If law enforcement refuses to do anything, keep calling and get other people to call in, as well. As the saying goes, “the squeaky wheel gets oiled the most.”