Texarkana, Arkansas

March 20, 2017

No animal shall be tethered to a stationary object. Dogs may be restrained by means of a trolley system, provided that certain requirements are met.

Section 5-6 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Texarkana, Arkansas, is hereby deleted in its entry and the following is substituted therefore:

A. Confinement of Dogs. Any person owning, possessing or keeping a dog or dogs, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, licensed or unlicensed, shall confine such dog or dogs within an adequate fence or enclosure within a house, garage or other building that provides adequate ventilation and protection from environmental conditions.

B. Confinement of Cats. Any person owning, possessing or keeping a cat or cats, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, licensed or unlicensed, shall confine such cat or cats to his or her property in a manner adequate to prevent the cat from running at large.

C. No person shall direct-point chain or tether a dog to a stationary object. Dogs may be restrained by means of a trolley system or a tether attached to a pulley on a cable run only if the following conditions are met:

Only one (1) dog may be tethered to each cable run.

1. The tether must be attached to a properly fitting collar or harness worn by the dog, with enough room between the collar and the dog’s throat through which two (2) fingers may fit. Choke collars and pinch collars are prohibited for purposes of tethering a dog to a cable run.
2. There must be a swivel on a least one (1) end of the tether to minimize tangling of the tether.
3. The tether and cable run must be of adequate size and strength to effectively restrain the dog. The size and weight of the tether must not be excessive, as determined by the Animal Welfare Officer, considering the age, size and health of the dog.
4. The cable run must be at least ten (10) ft. in length and mounted at least four (4) ft. and no more than eight (8) ft. above ground level.
5. The length of the tether from the cable run to the dog’s collar should allow access to the maximum available exercise area and should allow continuous access to water and shelter. The trolley system must be of appropriate configuration to confine the dog to the owner’s property, to prevent the tether from extending over an object with an edge that could result in injury or strangulation of the dog, and to prevent the tether from becoming entangled with other objects or animals.

Notification of any violation of this provision shall be in the form of written warning to any one of: any owner of the animal, any person found to be in possession of the animal, or any owner or occupant of the property upon which the violation is occurring, whereupon a period of ten (10) days will be allowed for compliance.

If compliance is not met on or before the expiration of such period, the dog may be removed by Animal Welfare Officers.

If, for any reason, any portion of this ordinance should be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall in no way affect the remaining portions thereof which are valid, but said valid portions shall be and remain in full force and effect.