The Legal Limit Of Dogs Any One Texan Can Own

Having a pet, or multiple pets, in your home is certainly a way to bring some happiness to your life.

We hear on the news sometimes of someone owning 20, maybe 30, pets in their home. The sad part about that story is that the living conditions can be deplorable and you really feel sorry for the animals involved. That's probably why the State of Texas passed laws limiting how many dogs and other animals you can own.

The Number of Dogs You Can Own In Texas. Yes, There is a Legal Limit

Every state has laws and regulations about owning a pet. Let's go out west to California for example, you can own up to four dogs but a kennel permit will need to be acquired to own more. In Iowa, six dogs, six cats or a combination of both that equals that number is the limit.

Louisiana has a 12 dog limit per household while Minnesota requires a multiple animal permit to own more than four dogs. For Texas, the legal limit for dog ownership is four. There is no permit to buy to own more and there are no exceptions to the law, either. The limit is four per household.

Yes, There is a Law in Place in Texas That Limits How Many Dogs You Can Own

While there are state laws regarding pet ownership, individual cities can enact their own ordinances or laws around pets. In Tyler, you can have no more than four dogs or cats in your household. You also cannot have chickens or other fowl unless you're in a specifically zoned area inside the city limits (cityoftyler.org). In Longview, the pet laws are very similar (longviewtexas.gov).

While Tyler and Longview's pet laws are pretty straightforward, some Texas cities have some weird laws on the books (texascapital.org). For instance:

• El Paso – Illegal for donkeys to sleep in a bathtub.
• Austin – Illegal to carrying an Armadillo across state line.
• Houston – Illegal to own horses in a residential area.
• Corpus Christi – Illegal to let your dogs run loose on the beach.
• Austin, Dallas and San Antonio – Illegal to have a skunk as a pet.

So unfortunately, as much as we would love to own all of the animals and get all the snuggles, we can only do it up to a certain point by state or city laws.

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