Patsy Ann

Died 1942 - Juneau, Alaska

"The Official Greeter of Juneau, Alaska" was a bull terrier pup named Patsy Ann, who began her volunteer work in 1929 and didn't quit until she died 13 years later.

Originally from the lower 48 (Portland, OR), Patsy Ann was stone deaf from birth. Yet she somehow "heard" the whistles of approaching ships and headed at a fast trot for the wharf, not to be dissuaded for any purpose. Delicious snacks usually awaited her, generously bestowed by suitably-cheered sailors and passengers. It was a tidy arrangement.

According to her fans, Patsy Ann was the most famous canine west of the Mississippi; more photographed than Rin Tin Tin. Post cards of Patsy Ann sold briskly and, in 1934, Juneau's mayor gave the well-fed canine her official title. Rheumatism brought on by unscheduled dives into the cold waters of Gastineau Channel slowed her distinctive gait in later years, yet she still waddled for the wharf, on the double, whenever steamship whistles shook the city's boardwalks.

On March 30, 1942, Patsy Ann died in her sleep. A crowd of mourners gathered as her small coffin was lowered into Gastineau Channel.

Today, a life-size statue of Patsy Ann carries on Juneau's warfside happy duties. Clippings of dog hair from all over the world were mixed into the bronze when it was cast. And Patsy Ann is probably the only dead dog in America with its own web site (http://www.patsyann.com/) and e-commerce gift shop, hawking T-shirts, postcards, coffee mugs, and a mass market paperback novel (DogStar). A movie deal is reportedly in the works.

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