Tiffany Bourdeau was sentenced in district court on Sept. 17 on a felony count of aggravated animal cruelty.

She was charged in August 2025 after a complaint led the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office to seize 37 dogs and other animals from her residence in Sun Prairie, according to court documents.

Judge John Parker sentenced her to a six-year deferred prison sentence with a condition that she’s prohibited from owning or being around animals during that time.

The prosecution recommended that sentence to prevent Bourdeau from having access to animals for the longest time possible under the law.

Sentencing postponed in Sun Prairie animal cruelty case

Claire Lettow, her defense attorney, argued for a three-year deferred sentence since Bourdeau has limited financial means to pay the restitution ordered by the court.

Parker said he understood Bourdeau’s past trauma, medical and mental conditions as discussed during the case, but the “evidence has shown the pets weren’t safe” with her.

He said the six-year deferred sentence was needed for her rehabilitation, and based on the court record, he couldn’t allow her to have animals during that time, not even the service animal she requested.

Under state laws, Parker told Bourdeau she may be able to earn her way off probation sooner.

After about an hour of witness testimony and argument from the lawyers, Parker ordered that Bourdeau is required to pay the cost of care for the animals involved in her case, totaling $11,873.91.

Parker waived all other fines and fees considering her financial status.

The Sept. 17 hearing was a continuation of an April hearing when the lawyers disagreed on the cost of care for Bourdeau’s animals.

In November 2025, she pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement.

In October 2025, Bourdeau, her attorney and the County Attorney’s Office signed a joint stipulation in which Bourdeau forfeited the rights to all animals other than her therapy chihuahua named Chewy.

That meant the county, through Maclean-Cameron Animal Adoption Center , which housed the seized animals, was free to adopt out those animals.

Katie Ober, Maclean’s marketing coordinator, told The Electric that all of Bourdeau’s animals had since been adopted.

The county didn’t agree to return Chewy to Bourdeau the county retained physical custody of the chihuahua until otherwise directed by a judge.

Bourdeau takes plea deal in animal abuse case, sentencing set for January [2025]

As part of the agreement, Bourdeau had to pay $430 monthly, until the case was resolved, to the county for Chewy’s care. If she didn’t deposit the funds within five days of the due date for any reason, she forfeited ownership of the chihuahua under the agreement.

In January, the court transferred ownership of Chewy to the county, according to court records, and he was adopted.

During the Sept. 17 hearing, Brothers said he drafted a broad prohibition on Bourdeau being around animals with no exceptions for employment.

He said he wrote it in “no uncertain terms, nothing, no animals.”

Individuals who engage in animal neglect and abuse, Brothers said, tend to rationalize and minimize their actions in a way that allows them to convince themselves they can have another animal and the situation spirals from there.

He said that he was concerned about Bourdeau’s response to the case, as highlighted by her written responses in the pre-sentence investigation.

Brothers said Bourdeau’s treatment of the animals was “abhorrent cruelty,” and when asked in the PSI what she’d done, she wrote, “too many dogs and not enough crates.”

He said the photos of the animals and their living conditions at Bourdeau’s home showed a lack of compassion and the moral integrity to care for animals.

“She has shown no remorse thus far,” Brothers said, and while out of jail on bond, she got another puppy that she lied to officers about. Brothers told The Electric that the puppy was returned to the breeder who was unaware of Bourdeau’s case.

Lettow said Bourdeau was asking the court to allow her a service animal if all of the ADA administrative requirements were met since she could benefit from such an animal though it wasn’t medically required.

Sun Prairie animal cruelty suspect forfeits all but one animal [2025]

Lettow said that Bourdeau had experienced trauma and had an intellectual disability that contributed to her acquisition of animals and being overwhelmed with their care.

She said she didn’t believe Bourdeau acted with malice and was “not an intentional abuser of animals.”

She said the situation rose to the level of neglect and that the photos of the animals were also a reflection of poverty.

Bourdeua told Parker, “I did get overwhelmed. I tried my best.”

She said she brought some of the animals into her home because they’d come from bad environments and she didn’t want to see them in the pound.

Through tears, she told Parker she had cleaned and was trying to rehome the animals when deputies arrived last summer.

“I get pictures look bad, but that wasn’t how I lived; that day was just caught up in a lot of stuff,” Bourdeau told Parker.

During the argument regarding the amount Bourdeau should be responsible for paying for the cost of animal care, the prosecution called Katie Ober, Maclean’s marketing coordinator, and Capt. Landon Koteskey of CCSO.

Ober generated a spreadsheet at Brothers’ request detailing Maclean’s costs broken down based on the number of animals and days they were housed in the facility.

For 37 days, Ober calculated that Maclean’s cost for Bourdeau’s 44 animals was $11,873, which included food, supplies, vaccines, medical care and staff time, as well as overhead costs of utilities and insurance.

Ober said other animals were in Maclean when Bourdeau’s came in and staff had to work some overtime.

She said they weren’t at capacity with other animals the entire time Bourdeau’s animals were in the facility since many dogs were fostered out.

For comparison, Brothers asked Koteskey to calculate the cost had CCSO held the animals at Expo Park, which would have required having a deputy on site 24/7 since the animals were considered evidence.

Calculating that staffing cost, using the pay rate for a senior deputy, which is the middle of CCSO’s pay scale, at $42.18 per hour, for 37 days, the cost would have been $37,455.80.

With overtime costs, it would have been $84.78 for a total of $75,284.64.

Koteskey said he asked Fetch for a quote for animal care for 37 days, which totaled $95,357.51.

He said that CCSO had paid $2,000 to Maclean toward the care of Bourdeau’s animals and the Sheriff’s Legacy Foundation had paid $6,679 from public donations specifically collected toward Bourdeau’s animals.

CCSO contracts with Maclean for animal care and pays a $200 monthly fee, but animal abuse and hoarding cases come with additional costs, Koteskey said.

County switching from city to private dog shelter services [2024]

The $200 monthly fee was not included in the cost of care calculation for Bourdeau’s animals.

Koteskey said their calculated amount didn’t include overtime costs for detectives investigating the case, or equipment purchased at Ace Hardware to keep the animals at Expo Park for a night until they could go to Maclean, nor did it include veterinary care for the animals that were in foster care or spay and neutering the animals as needed.

Brothers said that Fetch couldn’t handle that many animals but during a previous hearing, the court had asked for comparatives to determine whether the cost of care from Maclean was reasonable.

He said the donations collected by the foundation were specifically to help care for the animals, not mitigate legal costs for the woman who hurt them.

Lettow argued that Maclean would have paid insurance regardless, so that should be attributed to Bourdeau’s animals and said it was news to her that the foundation’s contribution was born of public donations.

She argued that the foundation stood to receive a “windfall” if that money were reimbursed by Bourdeau.

Brothers argued that it would be a “huge insult to give the benefit to Ms. Bourdeau” and that he was “certain, with all of my heart,” that the public didn’t donate to reduce Bourdeau’s costs.

Parker said that the amount was a “restrained, very responsible request,” from the prosecution.

He said the foundation could be reimbursed and use those funds toward relief on another future case if needed.

“I don’t think there’s any windfalls for anybody here just based on how these numbers come together,” Parker said and ordered that Bourdeau pay $11,873.91 for the cost of care for her animals.

Sun Prairie woman charged with animal cruelty [2025]

Deputies were dispatched in August 2025 to 1323 Eisenhower Ave. in Sun Prairie for a report of animal cruelty for a welfare check.

There had been several other calls to the property since July 7, but according to Sheriff Jesse Slaughter, those hadn’t risen to a level that deputies could take action.

County Attorney Josh Racki said the Aug. 27, 2025 call was the first that had risen to his office.

When deputies arrived at the property on Aug. 27, 2025, they spoke with Bourdeau, who agreed to let them look at the property and take photos.

She granted permission for deputies to enter the residence and inside, deputies found nearly 30 dogs, some in kennels and some loose. Kennels were stacked and had feces and urine in them, according to charging documents.

CCSO seizes 37 dogs, other animals, in cruelty investigation [2025]

The floor was covered in fecal matter and Bourdeau pointed out a deceased dog on the living room floor, covered by a blanket, and told deputies it had recently passed, according to charging documents.

Based on the poor living conditions of the animals and the dead dog on the living room floor, deputies applied for a search warrant, which was executed around 6 p.m. Aug. 27, 2025.

During the search, 37 living dogs in various states of health were seized and nearly all of them were covered in feces, according to court documents. Two lizards and a hedgehog were also seized.

Deputies learned that three dead dogs were buried on the property and sought an amended search warrant, which was executed around 10:30 a.m. Aug. 28, 2025, and those three dogs were found and seized, as were eight cats, three lizards and a snake, according to court documents.

A veterinarian was called to the property to assess the living conditions and the animals.

The vet stated, “it is absolutely cruel to have these animals in these small kennels, covered in feces,” according to court documents, further stating the living conditions were “disgusting,” “uninhabitable” and “inhumane.”