Hundreds Of Golden Retrievers Gather In Boston In Marathon Dog's Honor

BOSTON, MA — If you stopped by Boston Common Sunday afternoon, you were met with a sea of gold fur as hundreds of pups met to honor Spencer, their beloved fellow golden who cheered on Boston Marathon runners for years before dying of cancer last year at 13 years old.

"When several hundred Goldens and their people show up to honor the memory of your precious pups, it gets you right in the feels," Spencer's owners, Rich and Dorrey Powers, wrote on Facebook alongside a video of the crowd.

The event — organized by MA Golden Meetups in honor of Spencer and his niece and companion Penny, who died of cancer within days of Spencer — raised money for Morris Animal Foundation to help find a cure for cancer in our four-legged friends.

It's through that very foundation that the Powers family began raising money for golden retriever cancer research after the loss of their two pets.

Carrying on Spencer and Penny's legacy at the meetup Sunday were the Powers' new pups, Jimmy and Jade, who will also greet fans at Monday's marathon.

Spencer was a therapy dog from Holliston who became a local icon in 2018 when a photo of him watching the marathon while holding blue and yellow flags circulated online and in news reports. In the coming years, he became a fixture at the marathon.

Just weeks before this year's race, a bronze statue of Spencer was unveiled on the marathon route in Ashland, near where he stood for many years.

"Whether rain or shine, Spencer brought joy, love and smiles to all runners who passed him, making him not only man's best friend, but the marathon's best friend," Spencer's legacy Facebook page, Spencer & Penny's Goldens Forever, said last month.