Washington County Controller April Sloane arrested on animal cruelty charges for dog’s starvation death

By KRISTIE LINDEN
klinden@yourmvi.com
Washington County Controller April Sloane is free on $150,000 bond after she was charged for allegedly neglecting her dog, Thor, until it died.
The investigation began Dec. 5 after Washington Area Humane Society Officer Gretchen Grasser went to the North Strabane Township Police Department to report a dog that died due to neglect.
Grasser asked North Strabane to investigate and passed on images of the dog, Thor, in deplorable conditions and another image that seemed to depict Thor either deceased or near death, the complaint states.
Humane society records state that Sloane adopted Thor in April 2021.
North Strabane Township Officer Brian Korey wrote in an affidavit of probable cause that multiple people were involved in the investigation.
BC, a juvenile, was interviewed about Thor’s neglect, and he reported that Thor died Nov. 27, the affidavit states. According to BC, Thor was kept in deplorable conditions and wasn’t taken care of for days at a time.
BC said Thor wouldn’t drink water or eat food for at least two days and he tried to give the dog water through a turkey baster, but the dog still would not drink, the complaint states.
“After Thor would no longer stand on his own power, BC pleaded with April Sloane to take Thor to the veterinarian, but Sloane failed to do so,” Korey wrote in the affidavit.
On Dec. 6, Korey called Sloane and asked her to meet for an interview and she asked Korey to come to her home for the conversation.
Sloane allegedly told police she knew that a tip was sent to police about her dog dying from neglect and she admitted “that Thor, her dog, did pass away due to not being properly cared for.”

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