BILLINGS— Two women involved in a Shepherd animal cruelty case were sentenced Friday to 10 years of probation under the Montana Department of Corrections and ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution.
Yellowstone County Judge Colette Davies issued the sentence. It came after the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office seized 42 neglected dogs from Katie Marie Milliken and Rebekkah Lynn Collins’ home in September.
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Many of the dogs were emaciated, with matted, sparse coats and painful skin conditions. Most of the dogs were Newfoundlands, with a few Australian Shepherds.
Milliken and Collins were each charged with 14 charges of animal cruelty, including two misdemeanors and two felonies, in Yellowstone County District Court.
Related: Sheriff seized 42 dogs in neglect case in Shepherd
County Attorney Ingrid Rosenquist said she was happy with the judge's sentence but she wished state law could have afforded a harsher penalty. She called the state's sentencing ability in animal cruelty cases "woefully inadequate", adding that the maximum for the felony charge is two years.
“I'm gratified that the judge recognized the severity of this offense. But I would have liked to have a longer term of years (for them) to be having supervision,” said Rosenquist.
Witness Morgan Lix agreed that the sentence was not harsh enough.
“The fact that they will not do a single day in custody, I think, is appalling,” said Lix.
Lix, who was the whistleblower for the case, adopted her dog Esme from Milliken and Collins a month before the seizure.
“I just wanted to give her an amazing last few years of her life because I didn't like that she had just been used for breeding,” Lix told MTN. “I met with the breeder at Lake Elmo, and I saw how emaciated and skinny she was… and she didn't have a normal Newfoundland's coat. It was sparse and wiry, and the stench was overwhelming.”
“She had an infection that was oozing out of her body, and it broke my heart,” added Lix.
She said she alerted law enforcement of what she suspected were poor conditions at the defendants’ home. That led to multiple visits from Yellowstone County sheriff's deputies and eventually the seizure of the animals.
Photographs shown at court featured multiple dogs crammed into feces-and-urine-covered kennels. Witnesses reviewed those photographs and testified Friday morning and afternoon.
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“There were anywhere from one to three dogs in each of these kennels… standing and jumping in their own fecal matter and urine,” testified Jessica Marketon, with the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office.
Det. Bailey Smith, also with the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, testified that the kennels were rusted shut and difficult to open, with no access to food or water inside. She described the dogs drinking water after the seizure as “desperate”.
“It genuinely reminded me of the scenes in movies when someone’s trekked through the desert or gone on a long hike and didn’t have access to water—the second they get it they drink three-quarters of the bottle and dump the rest on their face,” said Smith.
She also detailed the overwhelming smell of feces, urine and ammonia when she and law enforcement entered the home.
“A very strong, putrid smell of ammonia,” said Smith.
Veterinarian Kayla Erickson recalled the “inhumane” condition the dogs were in. She said one dog's leg had to be amputated, and some dogs were euthanized.
“A lot of dermal conditions just from the urine and the feces against the skin in general,” added Erickson.
The Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office led the effort to help the dogs recover, with significant effort from volunteers and donors.
Related: Yellowstone County community helps 42 neglected dogs recover after Shepherd raid
Capt. Kent O’Donnell said in court Friday that the recovery happened in 109 days, which he described as “phenomenally fast”.
Even though the dogs have had a swift recovery, Lix said the justice system does not take animal cruelty cases seriously enough.
“They were locked in cages that were rusted shut, and they were eating sparse meals off of fecal matter. I mean, they had urine burns on their feet,” said Lix. “If we treated a human being that way, they would be looking at decades’ worth of prison time. If our military treated someone that way, it would be a crime of war.
“I think our animal cruelty laws in Montana are woefully inadequate,” she added.
