Dion Leonard, the Australian/British ultramarathon runner began a long, hard race in June 2016. He had to go across the deserts of Asia for 155 miles. He was expecting to be alone during this journey but he had no idea he will be joined by a friendly little terrier for 77 of those grueling miles.
Leonard couldn’t go back home to Scotland without his new companion and they both ended up getting a forever friend.
Leonard was taking part in the 4deserts race when he met a little stray dog who would later be named Gobi. At first he didn’t pay any attention to the stray, who he had noticed hanging around at the runners’ camp earlier. He told the BBC that on the first day of the race, Gobi followed on his heels and ended up running the entire 25 miles for that day along with him.
The third day of the race saw the same thing. Gobi just couldn’t be without Leonard and he trotted alongside him for miles, having slept in his tent the night before. The difficult race went through a variety of terrain, and at some points, Leonard had to carry her across some rivers.
Once the terrain got to the Gobi desert though, the little dog of the same name had to be driven across with some crew members since the 127-degree heat would have been too hot for her. Little Gobi would wait in anticipation for her friend to cross the finish line where she would be reunited again.
The heartwarming story does not end there. Realizing that he couldn’t live without his new friend, Leonard arranged for her to be flown back to Edinburgh where they could continue their lives together. However, in a sad turn of events, Gobi ran away during quarantine in China and was nowhere to be found according to The Independent.
Leonard didn’t give up on her and returned to China to search for his companion. He eventually found her after an extensive social media campaign and brought her back to her new home. The two are still traveling the world together, Leonard is now a motivational speaker who has written several books about his experience of which you can learn more at his website.
Gobi and Leonard: an inspirational story of friendship and loyalty that we all have a lot to learn from. If you know somebody with a special bond to their pet, show them that they are not alone but sending this story to them.
