Beloved dog’s annual day of recognition is April 26 in Deadwood

RAPID CITY, S.D.
— Visitors to the Adams House in Deadwood will get the chance next week to honor William Emery Adams’ beloved dog Patsy and help out the local animal shelter at the same time.

On Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m., visitors making a monetary donation or donating a pet product for the Twin City Animal Shelter in Lead will get a free tour of the Adams House in recognition of W.E.
Adams’ American Bull Terrier Patsy.

Patsy’s Day has been a staple at the Adams House since 2002. The day not only raises needed donations for the local animal shelter, but it brings visitors to the Adams House to learn more about the history of Deadwood.

“Sometimes people think, Oh, I'm good, I'm going to go to a museum.
Oh, how boring is that?” said Rose Speirs, Communications Director for Deadwood History, Inc.
“This is not boring, not in any way, shape or form.
It has great stories about the building family, the Franklins, and both sets of Franklin families that lived here, and then the Adams family.
And the stories are powerful and moving, and it really shapes Deadwood and and you get the history in a whole different manner than you do from any other of our other properties here in Deadwood.”

The Twin City Animal Shelter is located on East Main Street in Lead.
The shelter hosts a spay neuter program, provides a community food service, medical care for animals, and makes a variety of animal-related items available to animal owners in need.

Patsy’s Day has supported the Twin City Shelter for years.

“Without community involvement, without community support, we could never do what we do.
And I'm talking our spay and neuter program.
I am talking community food supplies.
We just we couldn't do it.
And so it's, it's wonderful that we have both communities very, very supportive of us,” said Teah Pray, a volunteer with the shelter.

The Twin City Animal Shelter takes in about 350 cats and dogs each year and enjoys a high placement rate.

Jerry Steinley has lived in the Black Hills most of his life and calls Rapid City home.
He received a degree in Journalism with a minor in Political Science from Metropolitan State University in Denver in 1994.