WA - 20 dead dogs skinned with their paws removed washed up on island - Skagit County, 26 March 2026

[Clearsky]

20 dead ‘canines’ found washed up on Washington state island: ‘A diabolical person out there’

A sickening discovery is under investigation after 20 dead “canines” — apparently skinned and with their front paws removed — washed ashore on a Washington State island in less than two weeks.…

nypost.com

A sickening discovery is under investigation after 20 dead “canines” — apparently skinned and with their front paws removed — washed ashore on a Washington State island in less than two weeks.

 

[Rikissa]

Perhaps a warning about **graphic content** needed.

 

[tlcya]

Skagit County Fire District 17 Chief Olivia Cole described the discoveries as a “creepy mystery” that has left her “fighting back tears and anger.”

“We were expecting to find maybe three or four because we were told they washed out with the tide,” she told the outlet. “We ended up finding ten.”
[snip]
Police have yet to confirm whether the animals are domestic dogs, wolves, foxes, or coyotes, but Cole said it’s easy to “tell they’re all dogs.”
[snip]
The island has a notable historical connection to dogs. Native Americans who inhabited the area for centuries called it “Qweng qwengila,” which means “many dogs,” a reference to the woolly dogs they raised and sheared for weaving, according to Guemes Island.info.

It was later nicknamed “Dog Island” by early 20th-century settlers because of the large numbers of wild Salish Wool Dogs living on the island.
20 dead ‘canines’ found washed up on Washington state island: ‘A diabolical person out there’

 

[LadyL]

Sickening. It brings me to tears. Those poor doggos.

 

[space_dinos]

I find the mention of the historical wool dogs of Salish peoples by the NY Post a bit uncouth.

Wool dogs were typically used for...well, their wool, and were sheared like sheep, not skinned and discarded.

On top of that, whatever happened here (besides it being horrific) was extremely wasteful, not something I would expect to be associated with some Indigenous traditional practice. Not to mention, why would they take the time to weigh down all those carcasses as is suspected?

Sure, the "many dogs" name for the island is striking given the circumstances but I'm not sure the connection is a fair one when the circumstances are cruel and the perpetrators are unknown. If readers don't already know anything about wool dogs, perhaps they will jump to the conclusion that what happened here is associated with those traditions when they are not. I think Indigenous peoples have enough struggle without being linked to skinning and dumping dogs.

(I know it's not the main problem with the story! Trust me I'm a huge animal lover and seeing this story pains me as much as the next.)

 

[LittleSeaTree]

So that I (we?) can sleep, I’m going to tell myself that the dogs were deceased before the rest happened. I realize that also puts to question how they all died, and with that I’m going with natural causes as I run away from this thread. So sorry, doggies

 

[Rikissa]

I find the mention of the historical wool dogs of Salish peoples by the NY Post a bit uncouth.

Wool dogs were typically used for...well, their wool, and were sheared like sheep, not skinned and discarded.

On top of that, whatever happened here (besides it being horrific) was extremely wasteful, not something I would expect to be associated with some Indigenous traditional practice. Not to mention, why would they take the time to weigh down all those carcasses as is suspected?

Sure, the "many dogs" name for the island is striking given the circumstances but I'm not sure the connection is a fair one when the circumstances are cruel and the perpetrators are unknown. If readers don't already know anything about wool dogs, perhaps they will jump to the conclusion that what happened here is associated with those traditions when they are not. I think Indigenous peoples have enough struggle without being linked to skinning and dumping dogs.

(I know it's not the main problem with the story! Trust me I'm a huge animal lover and seeing this story pains me as much as the next.)

I didn't read the article after seeing the first photo, but there is a reason why I don't buy coats and jackets with hoods with fur brim.

Is it true that some companies actually use dog and cat fur in their products? | PETA

Unfortunately, yes. Dogs and cats are killed for their skin in Asia, just as bobcats and foxes are killed in the United States. Their skin is turned into items such as fur coats, fur figurines, and leather shoes and sold in America to unsuspecting consumers. To learn more about the fur industry...

www.peta.org

 

[Hathor16]

They were foxes that a crabbing boat bought (already dead) to use as bait. They washed over board when the boat got heavy waves

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Poor foxes

 

[Olive1313]

Yikes. In early/mid 2020 i was driving up to oak harbor and right around penn cove in a ditch was a skinned dog. Possibly the same person