Up to 20 dead canines wash ashore in coastal Skagit County

Authorities are investigating after as many as 20 dead canines – some found skinned, missing front paws and with twine wrapped around their necks – washed ashore since last Thursday in coastal Skagit County.

Beachgoers called 911 on March 26 after spotting six of the carcasses floating in waters surrounding Guemes Island, just north of Anacortes. Since then, up to 14 more were found floating nearby, including at least six on Thursday, according to the island’s fire chief, Olivia Cole.

The Skagit County sheriff’s office is investigating, and did not immediately respond Thursday to inquiries. The agency described the animals in a statement Wednesday as canines, a group that includes dogs, coyotes, foxes and wolves.

Members of Guemes Island’s fire department collected many of the carcasses on Tuesday and Cole brought them to a forensic veterinarian for autopsies and DNA testing the next day. The results are pending. They should help investigators determine which type of canines the animals are and what caused their deaths, according to Cole and the sheriff’s office.

The discovery has shaken residents of Guemes Island, an area proudly dubbed “Dog Island” for its history of Coast Salish people raising now-extinct “woolly dogs,” Cole said.

The conditions of the carcasses were disturbing, the fire chief said in a phone call Thursday. Most showed signs of being skinned, including having missing front paws and with fur only on their remaining back paws. Two of the carcasses had orange twine around their necks, she said.

“I haven’t slept very much,” said Cole, who also works as a dog groomer. “I go into all these different stages where I’m really upset, and then I’m angry, and I’m back to going, ‘I’m going to find this person.’ It’s been very difficult.”

The fire department was not able to collect all of the carcasses, one of which was found Tuesday floating in the Swinomish Channel near La Conner. At least one had already been placed in a trash can, and several others washed back out with the tide, Cole said.