• Diane Casanova & Meridith Depping
• Mar 11, 2022 Updated Mar 11, 2022
• https://www.kulr8.com/top_story/man-facing-charges-in-animal-cruelty-case-pleads-not-guilty/article_9efbe6cc-9e5c-11ec-a4ae-2362bb373e2d.html

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UPDATE, MARCH 11 AT 1:01 PM:

Michael Bigelow was arranged in Yellowstone County Friday morning and is pleading not guilty to all charges.

His bond has been set at $125,000 and will be required to be monitored via GPS.

Bigelow has been ordered to have no contact with his mother or any animals.

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MONTANA – After more than a dozen dogs were found dead at one property in Yellowstone County, a man is facing four felonies and multiple misdemeanors related to animal cruelty.

Court documents say an Animal Control Officer responded to the 700 block of Bender road on Thursday, March 3rd, for a report of a loose dog in the area. When the officers arrived, the complainant told the officer that three large Great Pyrenees dogs were harassing her horses and it was not the first time this had happened. She told the officer she believed the dogs belonged to the property across the street.

Documents says the officer was familiar with the property after responding to an animal welfare call at the residence earlier this year.

The officer entered the property and looked for someone to talk to about the loose dogs. As she looked, documents say the officer saw a number of dead dogs, a dead horse, litters of puppies, and adult dogs chained up in poor condition.

The officer met the defendant, Michael Bigelow, on the property and said she was there to discuss the dogs. After observing the man’s condition, the ACO reported her observations to a detective who had her remove the suspect from the property while a search warrant was drafted.

Once the warrant was acquired, several members of the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, along with a consulting veterinarian, entered the property and began to execute the search warrant.

At least 16 dogs were found dead, most by gunshot wounds. Several dogs were found to be in poor physical condition, with little to no access to food or fresh water. Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter says they received 19 dogs from the one property. 

The four felony charges Bigelow is facing are due to the location where the dogs were shot, which caused injury, suffering, and eventual death. 

Charging documents say other animals were found on the property that were also in poor condition on the property, with one horse carcass on the property which the consulting vet said was likely a source of food for the loose dogs as it had been partially consumed. 

Since his arrest, charging documents say the suspect has made several threats to law enforcement during calls to his mother, and has not expressed any concern for the animals.