BILLINGS — The two women involved in a Shepherd animal cruelty case - Rebekkah Collins and Katie Milliken Rebekkah - have been sentenced 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 on Friday. It came after the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office seized 42 neglected dogs from the home of Milliken and Collins in September 2025.
Vanessa Willardson reports - watch the video here:
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.
County Attorney Ingrid Rosenquist said she would have liked to see a longer sentence.
“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 in court featured dogs crammed into feces-and-urine-covered kennels. Witnesses reviewed those photographs and testified Friday morning and afternoon.
“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.
Detective 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.
Captain 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.
(OCTOBER 15, 2025) Two sisters have each been charged with 14 charges of animal cruelty in Yellowstone County District Court in connection with the Sept. 30 seizure of 42 malnourished dogs from a Shepherd residence.
“The condition of these dogs was horrific that involved that required law enforcement to get involved,” said County Attorney Scott Twito, R-Yellowstone County.
Katie Marie Milliken and Rebekkah Lynn Collins pleaded not guilty to all charges, which includes 12 felonies and two misdemeanors, at their arraignments on October 10, 2025.
“Those are very serious charges and something this office takes very seriously,” said Twito.
Watch the video here:
The investigation began on September 4, when Yellowstone County deputies received a complaint from a woman said she had purchased an eight-year-old Newfoundland dog in poor health from a breeder, identified as Milliken, according to charging documents filed by Yellowstone Senior Deputy County Attorney Ingrid Rosenquist.
Deputies contacted another woman who sold the dog, named Esme, to Milliken in July 2024. In September 2024, the dog weighed 115 pounds when she was brought in for vaccinations, which was about normal for the breed. After a year in Milliken's care, the shrunk to 62 pounds, according to court documents.
A veterinarian told deputies Esme likely lost weight because she was not fed regularly and kept in a kennel without regular human contact.
The dog had been listed on the Crystal Waters Newfoundland kennel page for $500. When the buyer met Milliken to pick up the dog at Lake Elmo, she said Esme was matted on her backside, and a foul odor was coming from the vehicle.
A deputy and an animal control officer went to Milliken's property on 12 Mile Road and knocked on the door, but no one answered. The animal control officer then received a call from Milliken, who said she had been out of town for an extended amount of time— contradicting the timeline of the woman who had just met her to buy Esme.
She also told authorities that her sister, Collins, was the contact person for her children and had seen them on the surveillance cameras.
On September 11, the deputy and animal control officer returned to the property to check on the dogs' welfare. Collins was there and said Milliken was out of town but could speak with them on the phone.
The deputy found a shed containing dogs in kennels, many of which were jumping and barking frantically, according to court documents. The kennels were described as "extremely filthy," as well as smelly and dark. Urine lined the floors.
Upon entering the residence, the deputy found feces on the floor and four Australian puppies in one kennel with no food or water. Another six Newfoundland puppies were in a box nearby, with no water.
“The logistics behind this is, is, is very challenging and again, my hats off to the sheriff's office and the people that participated,” Twito said.
Collins said she had been in an out of the hospital and had left a neighbor in charge of feeding and water. The neighbor was not charged.
The next day, Milliken and Collins went to the sheriff's office and complained they were being harassed. Milliken said she only bred the dogs when she had a buyer, and she provided information about the animals' vets. She declined to discuss the complaint filed by the woman who bought Esme, and instead said she wanted to speak to an attorney.
On September 25, deputies arrived to search the property. They found contracts to sell dog from Rising Hope Australian Shepherds, a kennel owned by Collins. Deputies seized the 42 dogs out of concern for their safety and took them to a safe location in Yellowstone County, according to authorities. Deputies also found decaying, foul-smelling flesh in dirt patch, covered with maggots— a possible burial site.
If convicted of all charges, the two sisters each face up to 26 years in prison and up to $32,000 in fines.
