Can I be sued for slander for a welfare check?

I'm going to attempt brevity and preface this with I'm well aware of how poorly I handled this and in retrospect would have confronted the family member directly -

I was recently informed by multiple family members (A) about some supposed animal neglect by another member of the family (B). The details were heart wrenching - and the family members telling me the information had seen it first hand and had no reason to lie. So I took it to heart and let my emotions get away with me and called for a welfare check on the dogs.

With no malice intended - I called their (B) local police to have someone check on the dogs - I'd relayed what I'd heard from family members(a) and let them know I was calling from out of state and asked them to simply check on the dogs to be sure they were okay.

According to the officer that went to do the check - the animals were indeed okay (at least to their standards) and no action was taken. My family (b) are upset (in part or how I handled it for which I've both acknowledged apologized for profusely) and as they don't know me very well and tend to have a flair for the dramatic. I'm afraid they'll sue me for slander.

I didn't have any malicious intent, I made it clear to the officer I spoke to that what is heard was rumor and I was hoping someone could go check, I had no intent on harming their reputation or standing in the community. I just wanted to be sure that the animals were okay based on what I'd heard from folks who had seen the conditions first hand.

The question is could they actually sue me for some form of slander?