MICHAEL JAMES BIGELOW arrested after dead and emaciated animals found on his mother’s property

- Montana, USA -

~ UPDATE: April 11, 2022

On Thursday, April 7, in Yellowstone County District Court, 34-years-old MICHAEL JAMES BIGELOW (pictured) changed his plea admitting guilt to 11 counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals.

In March, BIGELOW was initially charged with four felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and nine misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals.

At a March 11 arraignment hearing, BIGELOW was ordered held in the Yellowstone County jail on $125,000 bond.

On Thursday, BIGELOW was sentenced to one year in prison on each count with all prison time suspended.

The sentences will run consecutively for a total suspended sentence of 11 years.

The murderer will be under supervision during that period and will not be allowed to own any animals.

Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito said BIGELOW must give up all the animals and all his guns for 11 years as part of the plea agreement. A supervising officer will regularly check on him as part of the plea.

Twito told MTN News: “I think that people need to understand that the difference between felony and misdemeanor when we are talking about animal cruelty, we are talking about two years versus one year. And in this case, we were able to run it consecutive to 11 years so he is effectively on supervision for 11 years. That’s kind of what you would get with a felony animal cruelty.”

Twito then added: “We feel like the case resolved correctly. We do give credit to Mr. Bigelow for wanting to move on and enter into this agreement so quickly. And so we were fine with the arrangement that we made.”

Update on Voice For Us Facebook page

Plea Agreement:

2022 - Apr 11, Mar 9 R.I.P. Innocent Souls - case MICHAEL JAMES BIGELOW MT.pdf

Download PDF • 331KB

~ Original story:

On March 3, animal control officer Bailey Smith with the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office

responded to a report of a dog at large on the 700 block of Bender Road in Yellowstone County.

Officer Smith met with the complainant who said that three large white dogs who appeared to be Great Pyrenees, had entered her property and began to harass her horses.

The woman also told Officer Smith that this was not the first time this had happened and she was concerned with the safety of her horses. The woman added that the dogs were from the property across the street.

It just so happened that Officer Smith was familiar with the property because on January 16, 2022, she conducted an animal welfare check there.

The 34.6-acre property includes dilapidated sheds, campers, Quonset huts, pens, and over grazed pastures with no running water and minimal electricity.

After talking with the complainant, Officer Smith went to the property to investigate the report of loose dogs. The gate was open so she drove onto the property.

Officer Smith noticed a parked truck and as she was walking around the property, she called out to announce her presence. She then noticed many dead dogs, a dead horse, adult dogs chained up in poor condition, and litters of puppies, some running loose.

At one point in a Quanset hut Officer Smith saw a human hand that appeared stiff and after getting no response from the person, she went in.

The person inside the hut was identified as 34-years-old MICHAEL JAMES BIGELOW (pictured below).

Officer Smith explained to BIGELOW that she was there to discuss the loose dogs. She reported BIGELOW’s appearance as “disheveled with his clothes and skin appeared to be covered in dirt and his hair appeared dreaded due to lack of washing.”

She then contacted Detective Captain Paris and BIGELOW was asked to leave the property while a search warrant was being drafted.

After obtaining the warrant, the Yellowstone County Sherriff’s Deputies entered the property, took photos and inspected the animals, both alive and dead.

Dr. Stacey Wetherhelt with Montana Mobile Vet was also called in.

· The first dead dog examined by Dr. Wetherhelt was found lying on the side of the hill alongside the driveway. The 1-year-old female puppy was extremely thin and had been shot in the head.

BIGELOW’s mother, CARRIE BIGELOW, is the property’s owner and was onsite during the search. She told officers that it was her son who had shot the puppy.

· A second dead dog was located in a pasture alongside the driveway. The furbaby, an Idaho Shag, was frozen to the ground and had been shot in the side of the head.

· Two more dogs were discovered shot side by side. One of them, a female Anatolian Shepherd, was pregnant. She was found chained and was extremely thin. The mama-to-be had been shot in the head. The other dog was approximately 1 year old and had also been shot in the side of the head.

· A short distance from these two furbabies, officials found a lifeless Anatolian puppy approximately 6 months old. The pup was frozen to the ground and was suspected to have been shot, stated the report.

· A sixth dead dog, estimated to be a 6-month-old Anatolian, was found near the sheep pen. The furbaby was in a wire cage with no access to food or water.

· A live dog, an adult Komondor, was found chained with the chain entangled with wire. The furbaby’s coat had grown around the chain and the chain was tight around the neck. There was no sign of food or water. Dr. Wetherhelt recommended that the dog be seized so that his coat condition could be addressed. Officers had to cut the coat to remove the chain. After being groomed, the dog showed to have fleas and balls of mud caught in the coat between his paws that were affecting the foot.

· A deceased crossbred LGD, was found underneath a chain-link kennel panel. After lifting the chain-link panel, Dr. Wetherhelt was able to examine him and determined he had also been shot in the head. The report refers to this soul as Dog #8.

· Dog #9 was another adult Komondor. He was found chained around a pole with the chain wound tightly around the pole with limited ability to move about. No food or water were present. Dr. Wetherhelt recommended that he be seized to address his coat condition. After being groomed, it was determined that the dog had a significant flea infestation. His coat was in worse condition than the other Komondor. The coat in the rear was matted with fecal matter that almost concealed his anus.

· A dead dog, who appeared to be a female Great Pyrenees and might have been pregnant was discovered. She had been shot in the side of the head.

· The search led to another deceased female dog who appeared to be a Great Pyrenees and might have been pregnant. Listed in the report as Dog #11, the poor soul had been shot in the stomach. Dr. Wetherhelt stated that she did not die quickly and might have bled internally giving the appearance of being pregnant. Dr. Wetherhelt also said that the furbaby would have been conscious as this bleeding eventually ended her life.

· In a fenced enclosure officers found a crossbred LGD believed to be dead at first due to the dog lying against a tree with what appeared to be significant head trauma. As Detective Charbonneau approached him, he saw that the furbaby was blinking and breathing. When the dog got up and moved away from the tree, officials observed he was carrying his head at an awkward angle and had an additional wound in his loin area.

Dr. Wetherhelt observed that the furbaby was “dull, obtunded, and in pain”, stated the report. It was then determined that euthanasia was the humane course of action given the dog’s condition. After the passing of the poor soul, Dr. Wetherhelt examined him. She carefully opened the caked matter on the head that revealed a wound encompassing the entire head of the dog. The skull and spinal column appeared to have been hit by a bullet causing pain and the awkward angle in which the dog had been carrying his head. This gunshot injury essentially “scalped” the skin on his head. Another wound was found on the left flank and a larger wound found by the tail that appeared to be entry/exit wounds for a gunshot. The wound on the flank had started to granulate in. Dr. Wetherhelt opined that these wounds would not inherently kill the dog but would cause him great pain. The wound was determined to be older than a week given the status of healing despite infection. Beside the fence of the enclosure officers located a 30/30 shell.

· Alongside the above enclosure, there was a fenced pen and inside officers found a litter of six puppies. Their mom was very skinny and none of the poor souls had access to food or water. Based on the body condition of the mom, Dr. Wetherhelt recommended that she and her puppies be removed to receive proper care and feeding.

· Immediately outside the enclosure of the litter above, was an old male dog who appeared to be a Great Pyrenees. There was no sign of food or water for this poor soul. He was very thin and appeared to have severe muscle wasting on the rear legs. Dr. Wetherhelt observed that his stool was soft and green and filled with hair. The furbaby had access to a plastic shelter but did not have any bedding. Dr. Wetherhelt recommended that he be removed from the property to receive proper care.

· A male Anatolian puppy approximately 1 year old, was also found dead after being shot in the head.

· Two other deceased dogs were located in what appeared to be a burn pit where trash was thrown. One of the two dogs was a LGD and showed evidence of decomposition. He had been shot in the muzzle breaking bone. Dr. Wetherhelt said the furbaby would have been conscious as he bled out.

The other dog, a female LGD approximately 1 year old, was shot in the eye.

· Officials then discovered an approximately 3-year-old LGD female who had an indeterminate wound that was possibly a gunshot wound to the pelvis/abdominal area. She had been chewed on by other dogs/animals.

· An old LGD dog was found shot in the neck and as he bled out, Dr. Wetherhelt stated that the furbaby would have been conscious at the time of the shooting.

· An Anatolian mama dog was found in a pen with her three puppies. One of them was dead. The mom was extremely thin. Officials noticed she was guarding her deceased baby.

There was no water in the pen and no adequate food. According to the report, in the pen was what appeared to be the skin of a deer that the puppies were chewing on.

Due to the condition of the mom, Dr. Wetherhelt recommended that she and her puppies be removed from the property to get proper care. Officers realized that the mom was very concerned about leaving her deceased baby behind so they removed the deceased puppy and placed him/her with his/her mom and siblings during transport.

· Under two filthy mattresses laying on the ground of a small shed, officers discovered a dead puppy. The puppy’s mom was running loose and appeared to be eating on the carcass of a deceased horse located outside of the shed row. Dr. Wetherhelt noted that the mom had two very enlarged teats which raised a concern of mastitis. Initially officers observed three puppies running loose and hiding occasionally under the couch inside the shed. However, as investigators were on the property, they heard cries coming from the shed row and realized that there was at least one puppy stuck between the wood paneling and metal siding of the shed row.

Officers used a drill and a pry bar to remove the paneling and discovered two additional puppies. Dr. Wetherhelt recommended that the mom and her five puppies be removed from the property to be cared for due to concern for the two puppies that had been stuck between the panels of the shed.

· Another older LGD was seen by officers running loose. Officers determined he could access water and food so the furbaby was left out by officers prior to leaving. This dog appeared to be eating on a carcass as his head and muzzle was stained red.

· According to the report, there were several other LGDs of various ages and gender who were either in fenced-in pastures or running loose. These dogs appeared to have better body conditioning and access to some water although no food was found on the property.

On the property officials also discovered five live horses and one horse carcass. The live horses were all in one corral and all were extremely thin. There was water present but no food. Two of the five horses appeared to be still nursing.

The deceased horse had a parrot mouth and had hooks/points on the teeth that should have been filed.

Dr. Wetherhelt noted that these hooks/points would make eating painful and slow for the horse and in the presence of other horses, it was very unlikely for him to get enough food.

Dr. Wetherhelt believed that the poor animal was likely very skinny at time of death and likely was a source of food for some of the loose dogs as he/she had been partially consumed.

There was a cow and calf in a corral who appeared to be in good condition. Food was available in the feeder, but the water tank had a large ice block in it that prevented access to the melted water.

In a pen, deputies and Dr. Wetherhelt found a small flock of sheep that was a mix of rams, ewes, and lambs. There was no food in the pen and the water tank was empty.

Dr. Wetherhelt noted that the small pen was not healthy for the sheep. She also observed that the sheep appeared to have blood and blisters around their mouths that she suspected was a zoonotic disease called Orf. While Dr. Wetherhelt stated that this virus usually runs its course and eventually goes away, the animals need to be carefully observed as a severe infection can make it too painful for the animal to eat.

All the deceased animals were collected and the dogs recommended by Dr. Wetherhelt to be removed from the property were transported to Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter.

The shelter is now in need of clean towels, blankets, and puppy pads.

Monetary donations can also be made directly on their website. Thank you!

Officers helped BIGELOW’s mother place a large water container on the bed of the truck so that she could go get water for the animals that remained on the property.

BIGELOW was taken into custody and according to the report, since being jailed, BIGELOW had not asked who was caring for his animals while he was in custody.

Instead, he repeatedly made threats against law enforcement including that he will “fucking lob bullets at them” and “You will be shot motherfucker.”

BIGELOW is being held in the Yellowstone County Detention Facility on four Felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty (Punishable of up to 2 years in jail and a fine not to exceed $2,500) and multiple Misdemeanors counts of cruelty to animals (Punishable of up to one year in jail and a fine not to exceed $1,000).

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Details may be removed or additional information may be provided in future should such sources report an update.

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Sources:

Charging documents

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