Brian Smith, a political science professor at St. Edwards University in Austin, says the state's constitution was written right after the Civil War when animals, especially horses, were thought of as being government property. "The constitution is so very specific, that anytime you make even a small change like this, you've got to put it through the legislature, out to the voters and then in to the constitution, separating out service animals from all those other things that we think of as surplus property, like old cars and office furniture."
Under the law, the animal would go first to a former handler who retired due to injuries sustained in the line of duty, then the family of a former handler who was killed in the line of duty, any other former handler, any other police officer, county jailer, or dispatcher and finally any other person.
Smith believes it will pass with overwhelming support.
