A North Whidbey woman is facing animal cruelty charges for not properly caring for two dogs and four cats in a single-wide trailer strewn with feces and garbage, according to Island County Animal Control Officer Carol Barnes.

Barnes cited 36-year-old Michelle Mann Feb. 22 with six counts of second-degree animal cruelty, a gross misdemeanor charge.

Mann has not been convicted of any crimes. On Monday, she said she could not discuss the case on advise from her attorney.

Oak Harbor resident David Lander, who sometimes works for the Mann family, reported the alleged animal neglect after Mann asked him to bury a dead dog.

Lander said he was shocked at the scene inside a single-wide mobile home. The pets lived inside the older home while three human residents and many other dogs lived at a double-wide manufactured home elsewhere on the property.

Lander said the single-wide home reeked of urine and feces. Garbage and feces was visible throughout the home, but he didn’t see any food or water for the animals. There was a dead black lab that “looked like it had starved to death.”

An emaciated Great Dane was “barking like crazy,” Lander said. Four cats locked in a small bathroom were all over him, he said, hoping for attention.

Lander said he felt it was his responsibility to report what he saw, even though he is friends with the family members.

Officer Barnes said she found “unfit, deplorable living conditions in the home.” She said both the live and dead dog were emaciated, though Mann claimed the lab died from being poisoned.

Barnes said Mann was very cooperative and allowed her to take possession of the Great Dane and the four cats. They are all currently at the WAIF shelter near Coupeville and are doing fine.

Mann also surrendered two ducks and a rabbit, Barnes said. Barnes said eight other dogs live in the double-wide home with three residents. She said the conditions are much better, though she did some “educational work” with Mann to provide proper care for the pets. Three dachshunds, she said, were moved to a home in Coupeville.