A Fort Worth man is facing animal cruelty and terroristic threat charges after police say he fatally injured his neighbor's dog and pulled a gun on the neighbor following a dispute over two dead chickens. The confrontation unfolded near the 4700 block of Baytree Drive in the Summerfields neighborhood, where officers with the Fort Worth Police Department's North Division responded to a 10 a.m. call about a person with a weapon on Sunday.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the man told police he found two of his chickens dead in his backyard and then spotted his neighbor's dog nearby. He said he injured the dog and tossed it back over the fence into the neighbor's yard, where it later died. The man was not home when officers first arrived, and investigators reached him by phone, at which point he admitted to injuring the animal, the paper reports.
Gun Allegedly Drawn During the Confrontation
Beyond the incident involving the dog, the man is also accused of pulling a gun on his neighbor during the dispute, an allegation that led to a terroristic threat charge. Under Texas Penal Code § 22.07, threatening violence against a person or property with intent to cause fear of imminent serious bodily injury can carry penalties ranging from a Class B misdemeanor up to a felony, and prosecutors do not need to prove the suspect intended to follow through on the threat to secure a conviction, according to Saputo Toufexis.
Fort Worth Animal Care and Control officers responded to the scene and took possession of both dead chickens and the dog's body. Despite initial reports describing a shooting, animal control officials said the dog did not appear to have been shot, per police. The exact cause of the dog's death remains unclear, and Fort Worth police said the investigation is ongoing.
How Texas Law Treats Chicken-Defense Claims
Texas law does give property owners some cover when defending livestock and poultry from loose or attacking dogs. Under Texas Health and Safety Code § 822.013, a property owner or witness may kill a dog that is attacking, about to attack, or has recently attacked livestock or domestic fowl without facing civil liability. In the 2014 case Chase v. State, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that this statute can serve as an affirmative defense against criminal animal cruelty prosecution under Penal Code § 42.092, according to the Animal Legal & Historical Center — though that defense generally hinges on action taken during an active or very recent attack, not on retaliation after the fact.
If prosecutors move forward on the animal cruelty allegation, the man could face serious exposure. Intentionally or knowingly torturing, killing, or seriously injuring a non-livestock animal like a pet dog without the owner's consent is a third-degree felony in Texas, punishable by two to 10 years in prison and fines up to $10,000, per the SPCA of Texas. Separately, a 2025 amendment to Penal Code § 42.092 expanded liability to include acts committed with criminal negligence, not just intentional or knowing conduct, according to Saputo Toufexis, though that change applies only to conduct occurring on or after September 1, 2025.
A conviction would also carry consequences beyond the courtroom. Under Texas House Bill 598, which took effect in September 2023, anyone convicted of animal cruelty in the state is barred from owning or living with a domesticated animal for five years afterward, according to the Texas Legislature's own records — and violating that ban is itself a separate criminal offense.
Backyard Chickens Are Legal — With Conditions
Keeping chickens in Fort Worth backyards is legal, though the city imposes limits. Under Fort Worth Code of Ordinances § 11A-22, residents on properties of half an acre or less may keep up to 12 fowl and two roosters, provided the birds are kept in an enclosed pen at least 50 feet from neighboring houses or businesses. Free-range keeping of poultry is not permitted under the same city code.
The Baytree Drive case echoes a similar animal cruelty investigation Hoodline reported on in neighboring Parker County earlier this year, though that case centered on a poultry fighting operation rather than a neighbor dispute. Fort Worth police have not released additional details on potential charges beyond animal cruelty and terroristic threat, and the investigation into what exactly killed the dog remains open.
