User:CactusWriter/Patsy Ann

Patsy Ann or Patsy-Ann (October 12, 1929 – March 30, 1942) was a female English Bull Terrier who became the official town greeter of Juneau, Alaska. During the 1930s Patsy Ann was a stray dog that roamed the waterfront and greeted every ship that docked in Juneau. In 1934, the mayor named her the official town greeter and exempted her from licensing laws. She was the popular subject of postcards and snapshots. Patsy Ann survived on handouts from local bars, restaurants, and particularly the longshoreman's hall. A bronze statue of Patsy Ann was placed dockside in 1992.

Early life
Patsy Ann was a pure-bred white English Bull Terrier puppy born October 29, 1929 in Portland, Oregon. A visiting dentist named E.H. Kaser bought the dog as a gift for his two daughters in Juneau, who named the dog Patsy Ann. Because the puppy seemed constantly agitated and failed any training, it was given away to the next-door neighbors, the family of Reverend C.E. Rice. However, Patsy Ann remained untrainable and often ran away to explore the town. After several months, they owners realized the dog had been born completely deaf. So they allowed Patsy Ann to become a stray wandering the streets of the city.

Death
Patsy Ann died March 30, 1942 at the Juneau Longshoremen's Hall. The next day, the town held a funeral service for Patsy Ann and then buried her at sea by lowering her coffin into the Gastineau Channel.

In the early 1990s, the organization The Friends of Patsy Ann commissioned a statue to honor Patsy Ann. A bronze statue was sculpted by Ann Burke Harris of Albuquerque, New Mexico and cast at the Shidoni Foundry in New Mexico. The statue shows Patsy Ann sitting upright looking out to sea and with a dog collar laying flat across one paw. On June 3, 1992 it was installed on the Juneau dockside boardwalk near Marine Way.