This heart-warming tale of Juneau, Skagway, and the White Pass was inspired by the statue of Patsy Ann, a bull terrier, on the docks of Juneau, Alaska. A familiar sight to the thousands who arrive in Juneau on cruises and ferry-boats which ply the Inside Passage from the Pacific Northwest through the panhandle of southeastern Alaska, the statue commemorates the life of Patsy Ann (1929-1942), a free dog who became the official greeter to all ships docking in Juneau. This short story (approximately 3,800 words) by Donald J. Bingle (author of the award-winning short memoir, "Father's Day") is about one family on such a cruise and the strange and wonderful experience that their daughter, Julie, has with Patsy Ann.

Donald J. Bingle has eight published books, including: The Dick Thornby Thriller Series (Net Impact, Wet Work, and Flash Drive); Forced Conversion; GREENSWORD; Frame Shop; and (with Jean Rabe) The Love-Haight Case Files, Books 1 & 2; ) and more than seventy stories, primarily in DAW themed anthologies and tie-in anthologies, including stories in Steampunk'd, Imaginary Friends, Fellowship Fantastic, Zombie Raccoons and Killer Bunnies, Time Twisters, Front Lines, Slipstreams, If I Were An Evil Overlord, Civil War Fantastic, Future Americas, All Hell Breaking Loose, The Dimension Next Door, Sol's Children, Historical Hauntings, Time-Traveled Tales, and Fantasy Gone Wrong.

Many of his short stories have been published by genres in his Writer on Demand™ series of story collections: Tales of Gamers and Gaming; Tales of Humorous Horror; Tales Out of Time; Grim, Fair e-Tales; Tales of an Altered Past Powered by Romance, Horror, and Steam; Not-So-Heroic Fantasy; and Shadow Realities.

Donald J. Bingle is a member of the International Thriller Writers, International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, Horror Writers Association, and Origins Game Fair Library.

You can find out more about Don's writing and link to all of his books and stories at www.donaldjbingle.com.