Pet Talk

Abandoned pets are companion animals that are either inadvertently or deliberately abandoned by their owners, by either dumping the animals on the streets, leaving them alone in a vacant property, far out in the country or relinquishing them at an animal shelter.

Abandoning an animal is illegal in Texas; a person can get a misdemeanor or a felony for it. Animal cruelty appears in many different ways, but all actions are against the law. In Texas law, abandoning an animal in the person’s custody without making reasonable arrangements for assumption of custody by another person.

In a civil case, if a judge rules that a person or people have been cruel to animals, the judge may take away their animals and order them to pay restitution. If prosecuted in a criminal case, a person may face penalties including fines, jail, community service and/or probation.

For cruelty convictions involving depriving an animal of food or water, abandoning an animal, transporting an animal in a cruel manner, injuring someone else’s animal, and overworking an animal, the defendant will be punished with a Class A misdemeanor, which may include a fine up to $4,000, jail time up to a year, or both. If the conviction is a third offense involving these actions, the state may punish the defendant with a state jail felony. Under Texas law, a state jail felony may include jail time ranging from 180 days to 2 years and a fine up to $10,000. Cruel treatment can be displayed in many ways, and Texas laws define cruelty to include two general types of actions, intentional actions and failure to act .

Intentional cruel actions include: (1) torturing an animal; (2) transporting or confining an animal in a cruel manner; (3) killing, seriously injuring, or poisoning an animal; (4) causing an animal to fight with another; (5) using a live animal as a lure in a dog race; (6) tripping a horse; (7) injuring an animal belonging to another; or (8) seriously overworking an animal. The state of Texas also has criminal laws that specifically prohibit dog fighting.

Cruel treatment also includes situations where a person has failed to act or failed to provide care for an animal. Failing to act or failing to provide care rises to the level of cruelty when it involves either: (1) failing to provide necessary food, care or shelter; or (2) unreasonably abandoning an animal.

Often, when abandoned, pets are forced to fend for themselves and become stray or feral. These animals are often not equipped to live on their own and become sick or starve. Feral cats are said to outnumber feral dogs and can become challenging to handle and socialize enough to be re-introduced to a new human owner. In general, only some newly abandoned cats and very young feral kittens can be tamed. There is a necessity to investigate interventions to prevent companion-animal relinquishment.

Stray animals increase potential exposure to zoonotic diseases like rabies. Cat bites or scratches involving stray or feral animals are eight times more common than dog bites.

If a person can’t take care of a pet, there are ways to humanely surrender them to pet rescues and local shelters, rather than leaving them to starve on their or be killed in some other manner. Once in possession of an animal, it is the responsibility of that person to maintain proper care and shelter for the animal.