Saving animals was Michelline Toulouse’s calling. At least, that is what her friends and family believed.

But Toulouse kept a dark secret that, once discovered, sickened those who thought they knew her best. Inside her Sunrise condo in May 2021, rescuers found cats. Dozens of cats. More than 60, including nine that were dead. Toulouse, 39, had abandoned the house months earlier.

Broward Circuit Judge Ari Porth sentenced her to three years in prison Wednesday, followed by 10 years of mental health probation that will include residential mental health treatment.

The ruling came after more than 10 hours of grueling, graphic and disturbing testimony.

Toulouse sobbed late Wednesday on the witness stand, pleading for mercy while defiantly insisting that she abandoned the pets only for 11 days. She hyperventilated when shown images of the dead, partially consumed, emaciated and infected animals she left behind.

“This is upsetting to you?” prosecutor Lindsay Carrier asked. “Imagine what it was like for them.”

Toulouse faced a maximum of over 60 years in prison, but Carrier only asked the judge for a five-year sentence, which would have been the maximum for one of the 12 aggravated animal cruelty charges to which she pleaded no contest earlier this month.

Defense lawyer John Hager called family members to the stand to defend Toulouse as a person, but they could not defend the conduct that landed her in court.

“She found her calling caring for animals, particularly feral cats,” said her father, Emery Toulouse. “Her dedication was not done for money or for personal gain … She gave more than she was capable of giving.”

But it was less than the animals deserved, he admitted.

By the time the rescue group Saving Sage Animal Rescue Foundation entered the flea-infested unit, the stench was overwhelming. The surviving cats were described as emaciated, hiding in fear. Some of the dead cats had been partially eaten by the surviving.

“There was no ‘clean’ area inside the residence in any room for the cats to not be in contact with their feces,” police wrote in their first report after they reviewed the scene.

Toulouse sobbed in her chair as witnesses described the squalor.

All she had to do was ask for help, said her former friend, Jessica Delcueto, a volunteer from Saving Sage who said she is still recovering from what she saw in the condo unit.

“We can help you. We’re not going to judge you,” she recalled telling Toulouse as it became clear Toulouse was unable to handle the burden of her growing fixation on “helping” feral cats. “She looked us right in the eye and lied to our faces” saying she had the situation under control, Delcueto said.

The case was handled in Broward’s Mental Health Court, which is designed to handle cases where the defendant’s competency has been in question and long-term treatment is necessary.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at or 954-356-4457.