Texas bite reporting.

The five-second answer: Texas requires every animal bite to be reported to the Local Rabies Control Authority (LRCA) within 18 hours. Biting dogs and cats are observed for 10 days. Lillian's Law adds a separate dangerous-dog process. AnimalShelterIQ runs the 18-hour clock, the 10-day quarantine, and the dangerous-dog filing.

1. The statutory framework

• Tex. Health & Safety Code Chapter 826 — the Rabies Control Act
• Tex. Health & Safety Code §822.041–§822.047 — dangerous dogs ("Lillian's Law")
• 25 Tex. Admin. Code Chapter 169 — Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) rabies-control regulations
• Local ordinance — each city/county designates a Local Rabies Control Authority (LRCA) and may layer requirements on top

2. Who must report

Under Chapter 826 and 25 TAC §169.32:

• Veterinarians and other health-care professionals who treat the victim
• Animal control officers and shelter staff
• The owner of the biting animal
• Any person with knowledge of the bite (under most local ordinances)

3. The 18-hour reporting clock

Texas is one of the more aggressive states on reporting cadence. Under 25 TAC §169.32, bites must be reported to the LRCA within 18 hours of the incident becoming known to the reporting party. The clock starts on awareness, not on the bite date.

4. The 10-day observation clock

Dogs and cats that bite a human are observed for 10 days from the bite date. Observation may occur at the owner's home (if vaccinated and the LRCA agrees), at an animal-control facility, or at a veterinary clinic. If the animal develops signs of rabies, it must be euthanized and tested.

5. What the bite report must contain

DSHS provides the Animal Bite Report form (BR-3); many LRCAs use a county-specific version with the same core fields:

• Victim: name, age, sex, contact, treating provider, body location, severity
• Animal: species, breed, sex, age, weight, color, vaccination status, prior bite history
• Owner: name, address, phone (or "stray / unknown")
• Incident: date, time, GPS location, narrative, provoked / unprovoked
• Quarantine location, start date, end date, observing veterinarian
• Rabies vaccination certificate number & expiration

6. Lillian's Law — dangerous dog process

Under §822.041 et seq., a separate civil process attaches when a dog makes an unprovoked attack causing serious bodily injury or death. The process involves:

1. Sworn affidavit by the victim or witness submitted to animal control
2. Hearing before a justice of the peace or municipal court
3. If declared "dangerous": registration, secure enclosure, $100,000 liability insurance, owner notification
4. Court may order destruction in severe cases

7. Notification chain

1. Reporter → LRCA within 18 hours
2. LRCA → DSHS Zoonosis Control for rabies-positive cases or unusual exposures
3. Animal control → municipal/JP court for Lillian's Law filings

8. How AnimalShelterIQ handles Texas

• 18-hour clock: automatically started on report receipt; LRCA notification queued and timestamped
• Voice-to-form drafting: officer dictates the narrative; AI populates DSHS BR-3 (or county variant) with victim, animal, owner, and incident sections pre-filled
• 10-day quarantine: clock auto-started on bite date; daily check-in reminders; vet release-or-extend prompt on day 10
• Lillian's Law packet: when a bite is flagged as serious-bodily-injury, the platform generates the affidavit, the JP court filing, and the dangerous-dog registry record
• LRCA routing: per-county LRCA contact directory; report PDF auto-routed; DSHS Zoonosis Control notified on confirmed rabies cases
• Vaccination cross-reference: the platform reads the rabies vaccination certificate from the license record; expired or missing certificates flagged immediately

9. Common pitfalls we automate around

• The 18-hour clock runs from awareness, not from the bite — we capture both timestamps separately
• Lillian's Law requires the affidavit before the court filing; the platform sequences the steps and won't let an officer skip ahead
• Cities and counties differ on home-quarantine eligibility; the LRCA's local rules drive the question prompts
• Stray animals with no owner go to mandatory facility quarantine; we route those to the kennel-management module automatically

10. References

• Tex. Health & Safety Code Ch. 826 (Rabies Control Act)
• Tex. Health & Safety Code §822.041–§822.047 (Lillian's Law)
• 25 Tex. Admin. Code Ch. 169 (DSHS rabies control rules)
• DSHS Form BR-3 (Animal Bite Report)
• National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control

This guide summarizes the regulatory framework as of the review date above. Texas LRCA designations and local ordinances vary by jurisdiction. We work with your LRCA and DSHS Region office to confirm requirements before go-live.