Warren faces revocation after getting caught with animals

A local woman barred from owning animals after a jury found her guilty of multiple counts of animal cruelty in 2017 is accused of gathering a veritable menagerie of farm animals in recent months.

Newly filed court documents show that probation officers are exasperated with Cathie Iris Warren, also known as Cathie Iris Odegaard, after years of alleged violations. During a March 9 search of her property, they found chickens, ducks, cats, rabbits, goats and a dog. Several of the chickens were dead, court documents said.

“[Warren] has been a challenging case to supervise,” wrote Probation and Parole Office Steve Watson in an adjustment to supervision document. “Her history on supervision shows she is unwilling to comply with the rules of probation.”

Deputies with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office raided Warren’s Crossway Avenue home in 2016, working on a tip from a resident. According to the Humane Society of the United States’ press release — the organization aided in the effort — more than 100 animals were rescued from what they described as a “puppy mill.”

Authorities launched an investigation in April of that year after responding to a barking complaint at Warren’s house. Health officials found dogs stacked in small crates without access to food or water, according to coverage in The Western News at the time.

Officials visited twice more, once in June and then again in late July. During the latter trip, authorities brought in a veterinarian from Whitefish to assess the animals and conditions.

The veterinarian reported finding dogs, many malnourished, in spaces too small for the animals to move. Warren allegedly had been feeding them cat food in an effort to keep them from growing too quickly. Birds also were discovered in close confines.

At the time, Warren disputed the findings as well as the description of her operation as a “puppy mill.” As a licensed kennel operator, she said her facility had undergone regular inspection and always come up clean.

A jury found her guilty in 2017 of three counts of aggravated animal cruelty, four counts of felony cruelty to animals and a single count of cruelty to animals, second or subsequent offense, a misdemeanor.

Along with jail time, she was ordered to forfeit the animals seized by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office with the exception of a dog owned by her husband. She was barred from owning “any animals for the length of the sentence imposed,” which amounted to 16 years.

According to Watson, Warren considers her conviction illegal and thus the terms of her probation inapplicable.

“[Warren] told me it is her constitutional right to raise and have animals,” Watson wrote. “[Warren] has been resistant in the past, but her current behavior is that she will no longer comply with probation.”

Watson described her as becoming increasingly “irrational” regarding the situation.

Her first violation occurred a little more than a year after her sentencing. In May 2018, authorities found goats on her property. During an intervention hearing in November, it was revealed that Warren was raising and selling goats. At the time, she claimed she was helping a friend.

In November 2019, a neighbor took photographs of Warren caring for goats at the Crossway Avenue home. Goats aside, Warren was barred from living at the home owing to the firearms owned by her husband. Watson wrote that officials suspected she made the place her primary home, but told officers she lived elsewhere to comply with probation.

Soon after, the family that previously had allowed Warren to stay on their property decided to remove her. Warren kept at a friend’s home, according to documents, until the two got into an argument. Warren asked to move back to Crossway Avenue, which officials allowed in December 2019 after her husband removed the goats and firearms. Free-range chickens on the property were allowed to stay, provided Warren stayed away from the animals.

She had no other options, Watson wrote.

Then came the March 9 search. Watson wrote that it was clear she was breeding the goats, as several were newborns. Chicken carcasses littered the area where the goats were held, court documents said.

“She couldn’t provide any explanation for why she had dead chickens just laying around,” Watson wrote.

It also was evident that she was feeding the other chickens, rabbits and cats that traipsed through the property, court documents said. Her husband admitted to officers that Warren was caring for all of the animals.

As for the dog, Warren allegedly claimed it as a service animal.

“She made it clear that I am violating her constitutional rights by not allowing her to have a service dog,” Watson wrote.

Watson wrote that they had exhausted internal tools to curb Warren’s behavior. Prosecutors submitted a petition to revoke Warren’s suspended sentence to Lincoln County District Court a day later.