A Taylor mother is facing misdemeanor charges for animal abuse after a viral video showed her daughter beating several dogs in their backyard earlier this week.
Taylor police and animal control responded to the home to seize the dogs.
Ryean Ray took the video on her cell phone and posted it on Facebook. The video shows a teenage girl repeatedly hitting a pack of dogs with a stick. Ray said she started recording because she wanted evidence of what she suspected was ongoing dog abuse at her neighbor's house.
"I had that proof there was something going on that needed to be stopped," Ray said.
Taylor police and animal control took the five dogs - one severely malnourished - from the home in the 26000 block of Leroy St. on Wednesday night. Laurie Schilling and her 19-year-old son were arrested. Police say they found the house in disarray, found feces on the floor and that there was no pet food or cat litter.
Schilling denied those allegations and said the video doesn’t tell the whole story. She said her 13-year-old daughter, who she said is deaf with the mental capacity of a five- or six-year-old, was trying to stop the dogs from fighting.
"You hear in the video, her telling them 'Stop, bad dog, stop,'” Schilling said. "[I] told her, 'Stop, honey, stop. She wasn’t hearing me. She didn’t have her hearing aids on to hear me,'" she added.
Schilling said she explained all of that to police. Her son was released without charges, and Schilling is facing a misdemeanor animal abuse charge and several citations from animal control. The mother of four admits she violated city rules by having more than three dogs at home, but said she’s not an animal abuser.
"In the video, it does look wrong. I’m gonna be the first to admit it. But before you make judgment on something, how about you find out the whole truth, not just what you want to see," Schilling said.
Four of the dogs were signed over to the Taylor Animal Shelter and will be up for adoption. The fifth dog is still being treated for malnourishment.
