The Patsy Ann Story:
Patsy Ann, a Bull Terrier, was born in Portland, Oregon on October 12, 1929 and came to Juneau as a pup. Being born stone deaf, she somehow "heard" the whistles of approaching ships -- long before they came into sight -- and headed at a fast trot for the wharf. She was never wrong. In fact, on one memorable occasion, 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. Old Juneau's Ambassador was the most famous canine west of the Mississippi, photographed even more than Rin Tin Tin. During the 1930's her image adorned post cards sold by curio shops and for many visitors, she was the highlight of their visit to Juneau. Local author, Carl Burrows, published a "little book" in 1939, simply titled ‘Patsy Ann’. Fittingly, it was there she died gently on March 30, 1942. The next day, a crowd gathered as her tiny coffin was lowered into Gastineau Channel. Patsy Ann captured the hearts of Juneau's citizens with her dignity, honesty, and devotion to her duties as "Official Greeter of Juneau, Alaska". Fifty years after her death, her statue was commissioned by the "Friends of Patsy Ann" and installed on the wharf she knew so well. Sculpted by New Mexican artist Anna Burke Harris, clippings of dog hair from all over the world were included in the bronze at the time of casting, symbolically uniting the spirit of dogs everywhere. 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. You are encouraged to "greet her and touch her and in leaving, carry with you the blessings of friendship through your life's journey".