The Pacific Northwest is home to many different habitats, flora and fauna species, communities, and domestic animals. In this region, you can find mountain goats, grizzly bears, transient and resident orcas, northwestern salamanders, western pond turtles, red foxes, grey wolves, long-tailed weasels, cougars, bobcats, and so much more. Domestic animals also call this place home as well and have existed with humans for thousands of years. Dogs, cats, horses, chickens, sheep, and more have had a huge impact both on human life and the environment in this region.
The North American porcupine is one of the largest rodents on the continent and can be easily recognized by its coat of 30,000+ quills. These mammals can be mostly found in forested areas around Washington state but have been known to thrive in brushy wetlands and...
Dogs have an unfortunate habit of growing old much faster than humans so if you're a dog person, there are probably going to be a few times where you'll be living with a senior dog. The good news is that senior dogs are just as incredible as their younger selves!...
As the smallest of retriever breeds, the Novia Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever were bred as hunting dogs and originated in the Little River district of Novia Scotia in Canada. Nicknamed 'tollers' and originally called Littler River Duck Dogs, these dogs helped lure...
Having chickens is a lot of work but it can be so much fun. These birds end up having funny personalities and many lay some great-tasting eggs! While there are plenty of good reasons to have chickens around (eggs, their poop turns into great compost, they can help...
There are many different ways you can bring a new pet home. It's become more and more popular to adopt a rescue pet from shelters and rescue organizations and this is particularly necessary, as the ASPCA estimates that 6.5 million companion animals enter shelters each...
Also known as Shelties, this breed is the definition of a herding dog and have guarded their owner's gardens against hungry wildlife for quite some time. Like other herding dogs, Shelties are intelligent, take well to training, and love having a job like being a...
In the Pacific Northwest, there are ten aquariums and zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (eleven if you include the Calgary Zoo in Alberta, Canada). In addition to being open to the public (now with restrictions because of Covid-19), these parks...
These elusive, forest-dwelling animals are agile and swift climbers. Fishers look similar to their relatives, the weasels and Pacific martens, but are much larger in size and have a darker coat. These carnivores are roughly the size of a house cat and weigh 4.4-13...
With a relatively tall stature and distinctive silvery-grey coat, Weimaraners are a gorgeous and fearless breed that love to spend quality time with their people. These dogs are intelligent and positive reinforcement training can be fun with them! While they can great...
For owners of domestic cats, it's well known that our feline friends make a whole lot of noises throughout their life. Over the thousands of years they evolved and became domesticated, house cats learned that, in addition to other forms of communication, "speaking" is...
When I think of sea turtles, I think of more tropical waters, like off of the Hawaiian islands or in the Gulf of Mexico. This is for good reason, as sea turtles prefer the warm waters between 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south. In the western hemisphere, that area...
Yorkshire Terriers, also known as Yorkies and even the 'Tomboy Toy', are small but energetic dogs that thrive when given a job to do. Despite their size, these dogs are full of courage, confidence, and spunk in addition to being a bit high maintenance. Their size...
Animals of the Pacific Northwest is an online space for folks to learn more about the animals found in and around the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It was started in August of 2017 by me, Andrea Merrill, and began after I spent years caring for all sorts of animals.
Animals of the Pacific Northwest is a labor of love and is a project that I do not get paid for. As much as I love working on the site, there are some costs to running and maintaining it. I am now working with Google AdSense to place some ads around the site to help offset those costs.
One of the things I love about this site is all the stories that you, the audience, tell me! That includes all the wonderful wildlife sightings. While I’m not going to be able to verify every sighting, I can at least try to confirm what you saw.
Also, I am not a biologist, zoologist, or wildlife official so my understanding of wild animals in the Pacific Northwest is more limited than those with more specialized education and experience. That said, I’ll try my darnedest to find an answer if you ask about a wild animal sighting.
Right now, I, unfortunately, don’t have the resources or abilities to know every rescue group and shelter in the Pacific Northwest. That means that typically, I’m not going to have many suggestions on where to find a specific breed of dog or cat you can adopt.
In my ‘Behind the Breed’ series, I try to see if there are any groups or organizations that focus on rescuing that breed. But for the most part, my best recommendation on finding a specific type of dog, cat, or other animals from a rescue is to do some research or look on sites like PetFinder.
At the moment, I am not currently taking any unsolicited submissions for the site. That may change in the future.
You can email me at info@animalsofpnw.com with any questions, concerns, or comments!
You can find Animals of the Pacific Northwest on many social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
I am not a veterinarian, vet tech, animal trainer, behaviorist, or nutritionist and do not have any sort of professional experience in these fields. Much of the information shared on this blog comes from plenty of research or from my years of caring for animals. New routines, including new diets or exercises, should be discussed with your vet or appropriate professional before being put into place. Information found on this site cannot and should not be substituted for information obtained by a licensed professional.
Some posts on Animals of the Pacific Northwest contain affiliate links that I could make a commission off of. All opinions expressed are my own and any post with affiliate links will contain a disclosure statement at the beginning. There are some additional third party ads on the site that I could also make a commission off of.
Do not sell, reproduce, or otherwise modify any written content found on this blog. That also applies to photos on Animals of the Pacific Northwest’s Instagram or ones for sale. Sharing a link with proper credit is allowed.
Lastly, any and all opinions shared by the author are solely the author’s. The author, Andrea, does not speak for any and all outside employers.