Spencer the Marathon Dog

In this "minisode" we visit another statue along the Boston Marathon route.

Transcript

Welcome back to the New England on a Pedestal podcast with me, Doug Farquharson. This one will be another of our new mini-episodes or a “minisode” as I like to call them where we cut to the chase and do a quick dive into one local work and its particular history. I hope you enjoy it!
If you’ve been with us from the beginning, you may remember that the first episode was called, approximately enough, “The Starter” and it covered many of the statues along the Boston Marathon route. If you haven’t already listened to it, why not go back and give it a whirl? There are quite a few interesting pieces discussed in that one. In just a few days, the 129th running of the marathon will take place. So what better time than now to take a look along its route and focus on a newer statue?
Now, if you ran the Boston Marathon anytime from about 2015 until 2023, or even followed it at all on social media or the news you may know about the subject of today's statue Spencer the Marathon Dog. For years Spencer would greet marathoners a couple miles into the race in Ashland. He was a golden retriever trained as a therapy dog. He could often be seen holding a Boston Strong flag in his mouth. A video of him cheering in the rain wearing an overcoat went viral in 2018 and his fame grew.  In 2022 he was named the official dog of the Boston Marathon. Some called him The Grand Barkshal and a VIP or Very Important Pup. As a therapy dog he visited many hospitals, schools, and assisted living facilities. Runners would often stop for quick selfies with the dog or get a doggie hug. Kids would gather around him to cheer on the runners. Some time in 2020 or so he was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer and battled it for several years before passing away in 2023.
The statue by Jeff Buccacio, my apologies if I mispronounced that, was unveiled in April of 2024 across the street from Spencer’s favorite cheering spot which was on town owned land. As often happens in small town politics, permission could not be worked out for it to be installed there. So very kind local residents living across the street donated a small parcel of land so that Spencer’s statue would have a permanent viewing along the marathon route. His owner, Rich Powers of nearby Holliston Ma is carrying on Spencer’s leagcy by training other therapy dogs and having them cheer on the runners as well. Good luck to all the runners next Monday!
Know of another statue like Spencer the Marathon Dog? Let us know about it. Check us out on the book of faces and the IG. My thanks to everyone that helps me out with this thing! Join us next episode when we venture to another New England town and dig into some local history there. Until next time, be safe, be well, be kind and keep discovering. Thanks for listening!