Queen Elizabeth had a particular soft spot for dogs.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, Queen Elizabeth petted a guide dog at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
She received her beloved corgi, Susan, as an 18th birthday present in 1944.
All of the Queen’s corgis descended from Susan.
She always took the time to pat their furry heads when she saw them at events.
Her last royal corgi died in 2018.
The Queen also had an affinity for horses …
… and she began riding as a child.
She visited an equine hospital in 2014 to bring some cheer to the horses in their care.
At Cotts Equine Hospital in Wales, the Queen patted the nose of Teaforthree the horse.
She befriended an elephant at the Whipsnade Zoo in Dunstable, England.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip took turns feeding Donna the elephant.
She became acquainted with a koala on a visit to Australia.
On a 2011 visit to Australia, Queen Elizabeth met two koalas in Brisbane.
She looked pleased to meet a Highland cow in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Queen Elizabeth visited the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh in 2009.
Queen Elizabeth met Bart the Bosc monitor lizard in Yorkshire.
She met the lizard at Bishop Burton Agricultural College near Beverley, Yorkshire.
In Wales, she greeted an owl.
She met an owl while visiting the Venue Cymru Arena in Llandudno, Wales, in 2010.
She encountered a baby swan on the River Thames.
The cygnets are counted along the river every year by the Queen’s Swan Marker.
When the Queen met farmers, she took the time to meet their farm animals, as well.
At Welshpool Livestock Market in Wales, she introduced herself to farmer Gwyn Price and his sheep.
The Royal Welsh Regimental Family’s regimental goats also made a dignified impression.
While observing St. David’s Day at Lucknow Barracks in Tidworth, England, the regimental goats stood to attention as the Queen walked by.
The palace released a portrait of Queen Elizabeth with her two white fell ponies in honor of her 96th birthday.
The portrait of the monarch, taken by landscape and equestrian photographer Henry Dallal, was first shared by the Royal Windsor Horse Show, according to a tweet from the official Royal Family account.
It shows Her Majesty standing between two of her fell white ponies, Bybeck Katie and Bybeck Nightingale. According to the tweet caption, the picture was taken on the grounds of Windsor Castle in March.