Long before there were the four or five cruise ships per day at Juneau Alaska, there was a dog named Patsy Ann, a Bull Terrier. She was named Juneau's "Official Greeter" in 1934.

Although profoundly deaf from birth, somehow she "felt" the whistle of ships from as far away as 1/2 mile, and headed at a fast trot for the wharf, not to be dissuaded for any purpose whatever. Furthermore, somehow she knew which dock the ship would tie to, and ability she demonstrated many times, including one memorable occasion when a crowd was given erroneous information and gathered at the wrong dock. Patsy Ann gazed at the crowd for a long moment, then turned and trotted to the correct dock.

Between ships' visits, Patsy Ann made the rounds of the local businesses (her friends). She had a huge number of friends, most of whom gave her bits of food, including a daily candy bar from one purveyor.

No home in Juneau was closed to Patsy Ann, but she chose her home -- the longshoremen's hall, perhaps because the men there were as interested in ships' arrivals as she.  The men needed to know the arrival of ships... and Patsy Ann needed to be needed.

In 1934, when a city ordinance was passed requiring the registration of all dogs, several citizens of Juneau bought Patsy Ann a license and presented her with a bright red collar which she wore for a short time.  She quickly became legally exempt from the law.

Born October 12, 1929, in Portland, Oregon, Patsy Ann was a purebred puppy who came north by ship, intended for the twin daughters of a Juneau dentist named Dr. Keyser. But the Keysers did not keep her permanently. Next she moved in with the Dean Rice family, and again, that home was not permanent. Through the years, she became a citizen of Juneau at large, a personality known and loved by all. She walked the streets and alleyways, visiting favorite places such as bars and hotel lobbies, and broke into a trot toward Gastineau Channel whenever a ship's whistle blew, as if she could actually hear it. At the docks, she waited for affectionate pats and food gifts, growing chubbier as the years went by.

Carl Burrows, in his little book Patsy Ann, published three years before her death, voiced the sentiments of Juneau toward this remarkable dog: "All of us may well learn a valuable lesson from the example set by her simple devotion and faithfulness to duty as Boat Greeter of Juneau, Alaska. Patsy Ann has not sought fame, but fame has come to her. Nor has she sought worldly goods, yet she never lacks for food or a place in which to sleep. But she has sought the friendship of all human beings and far more important than fame, has gained the love and respect of the people of Juneau, and occupies an enviable place in the hearts of all who knew her."

Patsy Ann was one of the most photographed dogs in the West, and tourists carried her story all over the country. If they didn't take her picture, then they could buy her image on a postcard in local shops. In 1935, Patsy Ann was photographed on the dock when the U.S. Army Transport North Star stopped in Juneau en route to Seward. Aboard was the first contingent of families bound for the Matanuska Valley and a new farming colony. Four years later, in 1939, local author Carl Burrows wrote a booklet about Patsy Ann that further heightened her growing celebrity.

She died at the Longshoremen's Hall on March 30, 1942, and received a burial at sea the next day. A large crowd gathered to honor her life and mourn her passing. Friends lowered her small coffin into Gastineau Channel.

Fifty years after her death, the "Friends of Patsy Ann" commissioned a bronze statue of the terrier for a spot not far from where town said good-bye in 1942. Sculptor Anna Burke Harris worked from a 1939 life drawing of Patsy Ann by Josephine Crumrine, along with photographs taken during the 1930s by Trevor Davis.

On July 3, 1992, following a lavish reception aboard the Regal Princess, the statue of Patsy Ann was unveiled at Patsy Ann Square along the waterfront. Memorialized in bronze, she remains in an ever-alert pose, looking out over the channel for inbound ships.

Pictured here with elite dog breeders and show handlers, Lee and Maria Miller, Patsy Ann sits at North 58 degrees, 17 minutes and 91 seconds North Latitude and 134 degrees, 24 minutes and 17 seconds West Longitude.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Juneau from cruise ships and are welcomed on the dock by Patsy Ann, as they would have been in the 1930’s.

The statue of the friendly Bull Terrier draws crowds of cruise ship passengers who come to pet Patsy Ann, take a few pictures, and leave with a feeling of good will that she continues to instill. More than five decades after her passing, Patsy Ann remains the "Official Greeter of Juneau."

They are encouraged to "greet her and touch her and in leaving, carry with you the blessings of friendship through your life's journey".

Carl Burrows in Patsy Ann ended with: "May she live forever!"

submitted by Willie Shoemaker (Fabens, Texas)

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