Juneau Alaska’s Beloved Canine Celebrity

Juneau, Alaska’s Beloved Canine Celebrity

Meet Patsy Ann, Juneau, Alaska’s Favorite Dog

Patsy Ann is Juneau, Alaska’s beloved canine celebrity and favorite dog. She was revered, loved, and became a legend.

Patsy Ann was an English Bull Terrier born in Portland, Oregon, in 1929. She came to Juneau, shortly thereafter. As a puppy, she would dash to the wharf and greet any ships upon their arrival. Day or night, she was there to welcome them to Juneau.

Part of Patsy Ann’s magic was that she was nearly blind and entirely deaf from birth! Yet, she never missed a ship, faithfully greeting each one as they approached. One story goes that a crowd had gathered at the wrong dock. Patsy looked at the throng momentarily, then trotted to the correct dog and greeted the ship. Patsy was never wrong. This unerring ability made her the “Official Greeter of Juneau, Alaska” by Juneau Mayor Goldstein in 1934.

When she wasn’t greeting ships, she made the rounds to local businesses, bars, hotels, saloons, and homes of town folk, who kept her fed and loved.

She became the most famous canine west of the Mississippi. During the 1930s, her image was found on postcards, and she was the Juneau highlight for many visitors. In 1939, local author Carl Burrows published a “little book” titled Patsy Ann. Patsy was photographed more than the famous movie star dog Rin Tin Tin.

One of the first public officials hired by the police was a dog catcher because feral dogs were such a problem. But, everyone knew Patsy–and her collar was always amiss; so, she got a mayoral exception from the collar law, which is why you find her collar at the feet of her statue.

She died on March 30, 1942. Her funeral was on the following day, and about 3,000 people gathered to watch as her coffin was lowered into Gastineau Channel just a short distance from where her sculpture now sits. When she died, an AKC Judge and artist from New Mexico was commissioned to make a statue of Patsy. People from all over the world who remembered Patsy sent dog hair to the artist Ann Burke Harris, who pressed the hair and fur into the wax before the final brass casting, which is why her texture appears the way it does–like dog hair from the globe.

Ann is Lakota and Cherokee, and by incorporating the global tokens into the sculpture, it became a “spirit piece”, in the tradition of her heritage. A spirit piece is believed to give the contributors’ spirits a bit of immortality. Fittingly, when the sculpture was transported, a ship made part of the journey.

The sculpture arrived in Juneau in 1992, and Princess Cruises hosted a reception.  Cy Peck Jr., an Alaska Native spiritual leader, blessed the sculpture in the name of harmony and the spirit of friendship between animals and humans. He prayed that the spirit would carry over into humans’ relations with one another.

Today, her statue sits at North 58 degrees, 17 minutes and 91 seconds North Latitude and 134 degrees, 24 minutes and 17 seconds West Longitude, where she continues to greet thousands of tourists and welcome them to Juneau, just as she would have done in the 1930s.

Patsy is also considered our good luck charm, so if you ever come to Juneau, greet her and rub her nose, and good luck is bound to come your way. When you leave, take the spirit of Patsy with you, carrying the blessings of friendship throughout your own journey.

If you liked this story, check out our other Juneau Travel Posts.