Teen arrested rescuing dog from woman in Chandler animal abuse case

When Mesa teen Bryce Slusher and his mother, Monica, drove to April McLaughlin’s Chandler home on Sept. 21, they had the best of intentions. But things quickly devolved when the teen hopped the fence and tried to rescue a dog he said was clearly suffering.

"It was a good plan until the cops showed up,” Bryce, 15, told Phoenix New Times.

After seeing an outpouring of videos on social media depicting the horrific living conditions of dogs under McLaughlin’s care, Monica and her son said they decided to drive to Chandler and film the scene for themselves. Monica said she has rescued 11 French Bulldogs.

Monica stayed in the car while Bryce approached the home and began to film dogs roaming in McLaughlin’s backyard. He spotted Chester, a disabled white terrier mix that appeared to be in pain. Overcome with a desire to help Chester, Bryce called his mother and told her he was going to rescue the dog.

Within minutes of setting foot in McLaughlin’s backyard, Chandler police arrived and arrested Bryce for trespassing.

"I just wanted to do something good," Bryce said.

"Follow your gut, that's what I say. I followed mine and it didn't end up all that bad. It's better than not doing anything at all," he added.

Bryce is scheduled to appear in juvenile court on Nov. 14.

Numerous calls for action ignored

The Slushers were just two in a long line of concerned individuals who tried to intervene in the alleged animal abuse. McLaughlin faces a host of criminal charges — 55 counts of animal abuse, 55 counts of animal cruelty and one count of vulnerable adult abuse.

The Chandler Police Department reported an uptick in calls on Aug. 8 from concerned citizens who had sent their special needs dogs to McLaughlin for specialized care, according to court documents obtained by Fox10. The citizens told officers that McLaughlin had failed to provide status updates about the health of their dogs. Private investigators also took photographs of “various dogs in poor health and in hoard-like conditions,” the documents said.

A month later, on Sept. 9, the Arizona Humane Society conducted a welfare check at McLaughlin's home after people called the nonprofit concerned about the dogs, according to the court documents. AHS reported observing a strong smell of urine and a large cluster of feces at McLaughlin’s front door. AHS also noted seeing disabled and mobile dogs in the backyard. One of the dogs was given a body conditioning score of 5 out of 9, indicating that it was in poor health. However, McLaughlin refused to allow AHS to examine the animals.

Three days later, AHS returned to McLaughlin’s home and documented that some dogs exhibited “lameness in their legs, head tilt with potential neurological concerns, exposed raw skin due to dragging, and some without water,” according to police reports.

AHS told McLaughlin that five of the dogs needed to be seen for immediate veterinary care, according to the court documents.

AHS revisited McLaughlin’s home one more time on Sept. 19 to follow up on the dogs it had earmarked for veterinary care. Once again, McLaughlin denied AHS access to her home, but she did agree to let AHS remove two dogs.

By Sept. 22, a pungent odor permeated from McLaughlin’s home when police officers served her with a search warrant.

During the raid, 55 alive special needs dogs and five deceased puppies were removed from McLaughlin's residence. Some of the dogs were covered in their own excrement, and others had visible festering wounds, according to police reports. Several of the seized dogs were euthanized by AHS.

The severity of the case has made international headlines. Yet, according to those who repeatedly reported McLaughlin, the unchecked suffering of the dogs could have ended much sooner.

"Everything that you can possibly think of with that woman, the documents, the pictures of the dogs, where the dogs came from, the owners, police reports, we have body cams. I mean, we have done everything. If the police wanted to know what to do for their investigation, all they have to do is pick up their phone and give us a call,” Rebecca Arizmendi, a board member of Yaqui Animal Rescue, told New Times in September.

The organization was among three rescue groups that sent dogs to McLaughlin's home and later sued AHS to regain custody of them.

On Oct. 11, a Chandler Municipal Court judge denied McLaughlin’s request to have 13 of the seized dogs returned to her. McLaughlin appealed the decision on Oct. 26; however, AHS will retain custody of the dogs for now.