A North Whidbey woman is accused of neglecting three horses to the point that they were substantially underweight and one died after being tied up like a dog, according to court documents.

Shannon Cuming, 45, is charged with second-degree animal cruelty in two cases and will likely be charged in a third case, according to Island County Animal Control Officer Carol Barnes.

In addition, Island County Public Health sent Cuming a series of notices of violations for allowing solid waste to accumulate on her property and for failing to properly dispose of the dead horse, according to documents obtained through a public records request.

One of Cuming’s horses is currently in “protective custody” at an undisclosed location after a judge signed a warrant allowing Island County Animal Control to seize the equine last month.

Animal Control Officer Carol Barnes’ investigation into the case began in May after a woman reported that horses were possibly being starved to death at Cuming’s property off Silver Lake Road. Cuming had just rescued the three horses from Moses Lake; she agreed that they were underweight and she would work with a veterinarian on a feeding program.

Later, a Whidbey News-Times story about marauding piglets in a North Whidbey neighborhood led Barnes back to Cuming’s doorstep. It turned out the pigs were hers and had escaped from their pigpen.

Barnes cited her for “animals at large.”

While she was on Cuming’s property to talk about the pigs, Barnes noted that three horses still looked underweight and their corral too small for them. Cuming said she was having a larger property cleared for the horses and again agreed to consult with a veterinarian about a feeding program, according to Barnes’ report.

The animal control officer also discovered the decomposing body of a dog inside a wooden shed. Cuming said she didn’t know the dog was inside and claimed a friend must have put it there without telling her.

Over the next few months, however, the animals’ health continued to decline due to neglect, animal control reports indicate.

On Oct. 13, Barnes cited Cuming on suspicion of animal cruelty in the second degree based on the condition of a mare named “Sunbeam.” Cuming’s friend took possession of the animal.

Later in October, Barnes discovered that one of the horses, a quarter horse named Big Boy, was moved to a pasture off Whitney Drive and that it remained underweight. She contacted the property owner, who said Cuming asked to board her horses on the property, but only brought the one horse and hadn’t been feeding it, according to Barnes’ report.

Barnes obtained a warrant to seize the horse and charged Cuming with another count of second-degree animal cruelty.

“I feared the animal’s life was at risk,” she said, adding that the volunteers with Whidbey Island Farm Assistance Program helped transport and care for the horse.

After she was arrested for missing a court date, Cuming allegedly admitted to the animal control officer that she had staked out two horses on separate cables earlier in the year. She said Toothless and Sunbeam had tangled their cables and Toothless fell to the ground.

Cuming said she called friends and, later, a veterinarian to help, but Toothless died before the vet got there.

Barnes said she plans to file a third animal cruelty charge against Cuming related to Toothless’s death.

She said the county takes animal cruelty cases seriously.

“It is my opinion that these animal suffered while in her care and she should not be allowed to own any type of animal,” she said.

Andrea Krohn, environmental health specialist for Island County Public Health, said she and Cuming worked out a compliance agreement that sets a timeline for cleaning up garbage, recyclables and animal waste from her property.

So far, Krohn said, it looks like Cuming is following through.

“She has put forth an effort,” she said.

Cuming pleaded not guilty in Island County District Court Wednesday to the charges against her. She didn’t return a call for comment.

Anyone who wants to help the nonprofit Farm Assistance Program care for Big Boy can send a donation to WIFAP at P.O. Box 402, Coupeville, WA, 98239.