Eight days after Spencer, the official dog of the Boston Marathon, died, his niece, Penny, passed away at 11 years old, according to WCVB.
Penny’s owners, Rich and Dorrey Powers, told the outlet that she had internal bleeding and tumors on her liver and spleen, and even with surgery, she wouldn’t have much longer to live.
The Powers family had planned to bring Penny to their usual 3-mile-mark at the Boston Marathon in memory of Spencer, according to WCVB.
They wrote on Instagram that they “told [Penny] we loved her until her last breath. We are beyond devastated … You are with your soulmate, Spencer, with your Frisbees and ball.”
Spencer died February 17 after multiple battles with cancer. Earlier this year, he was honored with a portrait by Pittsburgh-based artist Tom Mosser. After his death, the Boston Athletic Association, which hosts the Boston Marathon, said it would display the portrait ahead of the race, and that prints would be sold to support the Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study.
“Thank you all for your caring about this special duo,” Rich and Dorrey Powers wrote on Instagram.
Heather is the former food and nutrition editor for Runner’s World, the author of The Runner’s World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a seven-time marathoner with a best of 3:31—but she is most proud of her 1:32 half, 19:44 5K, and 5:33 mile. Her work has been published in The Boston Globe, Popular Mechanics, The Wall Street Journal Buy Side, Cooking Light, CNN, Glamour, The Associated Press, and Livestrong.com.
