July 2023
His name was Spencer.
He was a Golden Retriever, a therapy dog, 13 years old.
His honorary title, given to him as Official Dog of the 126th Boston Marathon in 2022, was Grand Barkshal.
He lived in Ashland, Massachusetts, a town along the Marathon route, with his humans, Richard and Dorrey Powers.
The Boston Marathon, of course, is world famous — and so was Spencer. Photos of him holding the Boston Strong flag, in memory of the bombing of the Marathon in 2013, went viral. Runners stopped along their way to greet him. Like all Golden Retrievers, he was sweet-natured and friendly. Often he was accompanied by his niece, Penny. They died of cancer within a week of each other in February, 2023, so neither of them was present — in person — at this year’s race.
But in spirit — absolutely. Two days before the Marathon, Goldens and their humans gathered in tribute to Spencer at the finish line on Boylston Street in Boston.
And the morning before the race, one hundred Goldens and their people met on Boston Common for a group photo — an event organized by MA Golden Meetups.
There will be a statue of Spencer along the Marathon route.
There will be more contributions to a fund for research into canine cancer: fundraise.morrisanimalfoundation.org/golden-retriever-lifetime-study/SPENCERSSP
So Spencer lives. He is in our hearts, as he will be as long as Boston Marathoners run and probably longer.