The Safe Outdoor Dogs Act (SODA) is a Texas animal law that took effect January 18, 2022. It replaced an ineffective tethering law by establishing statewide minimum standards to protect dogs left outdoors from extreme weather, requiring adequate shelter and potable water, and banning harmful restraints such as heavy chains. It also allows authorities to enforce violations related to heatstroke or freezing conditions immediately, without a 24-hour waiting period.

Every year, more than 1,100 cities in Texas hire new animal control and law enforcement officers, and many remain unaware of the Safe Outdoor Dogs Act. The webinar will cover the basics of SODA, best practices for implementation, how to strengthen SODA in your city through an ordinance, and how to make the law work for your community. There will also be a discussion of how SODA illustrates the difficulty of passing animal legislation in Texas.  

Our Panel

Courtney Burns, CAWA, Chief Investigator, Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit, SPCA, Criminal Investigator, Hunt County Sheriff’s Office, and Chair, Dallas County Animal Response Team

Jamey Cantrell, President of the Texas Animal Control Association and Director of Animal Services, City of Plano, Texas

Art Munoz, Director of Animal Services, City of Garland, Texas

Octavio Gonzalez, Senior Investigator, Houston SPCA

After signup below, you will receive an auto-response email with a link to the webinar.