Golden retriever known for cheering Boston Marathon honored with a statue near his spot

Animals also need to be honored and remembered for the great things that they did. Spencer, a late golden retriever, was recently honored with a statue for the amazing works he did. His statue was unveiled on March 30, Saturday in Ashland, Massachusetts, across his favorite spot on the marathon route, per PEOPLE. Spencer was named the official dog of the Boston Marathon in 2022. The statue was made by the local sculptor Jeff Buccacio. The dog became famous after he was seen cheering marathon runners from the place near Ashland State Park every year. His owner, Rich Powers created this tradition after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.

However, he didn't gain celebrity status until 2018 when he even turned up holding "Boston Strong" flags in his mouth while it was raining. Powers believes that his dog knew what he was doing and he understood that he made a difference and he "enjoyed" doing it. Many people used to wait to take pictures with their beloved dog. "It was like 20 people deep waiting to take a picture. They're stopping the marathon to take a picture with Spencer and he loved every second of it," Powers told CBS News.

He shared with the media outlet that Spencer lifted the spirits of a lot of people and helped a lot of people in tough times. And 2020 was a difficult year for Spencer too as he was diagnosed with a tumor. He fought it and miraculously was back on the route in 2022. Moreover, Spencer was not just a dog who cheered for Boston Marathon runners he also regularly visited schools, hospitals, and nursing homes as a therapy dog. Knowing this, a marathon runner, Susan Hurley contacted Powers because she wanted Spencer to visit her friend, Trisha Winton. "So we went over and met Spencer and Penny and the connection and relationship grew from there," Hurley shared.

Unfortunately, he passed away on February 2023 after overcoming multiple bouts of cancer. Power wrote on Instagram, "We are devastated to share the news of Spencer's passing," Powers wrote. "We were loaned [an] incredible gift in 2009, and we had to return the gift last Friday."

He also shared that Spencer had battled several medical challenges in the past few years and that he was not "ready to give up, and with the love and positive energy sent to him by hundreds of thousands of fans, he beat the odds and gave us 28 months," expressed Powers. Many people came to pay their last tribute to Spencer. "I've never seen anything like it, how many people he affected," said Powers. It was Hurley and Winton's idea to honor Spencer by making a statue and they quickly raised funds from community members. "There's no dog that would stand out there like him and he was just the epitome of what the Boston Marathon stands for," Hurley said.

 Buccacio and his team spent months designing, molding, and perfecting Spencer's statue because they knew how much he meant to so many people. "Every day we're confronted with things in society that divide us and the story of Spencer is something that unites us. That's beautiful to us," said Buccacio.