It is no secret that man’s best friend is a dog, which is why it is not surprising that an extreme marathon runner hopes to be reconnected with a stray dog he befriended during a chastening race in China. This is thanks to a crowd-funding invocation.

Dion Leonard was participating in the 4 Desert Race when his path crossed with Gobi (the stray dog) in the Tian Shan mountain range. The pair clicked immediately and they instantly became friends when Gobi, the dog harmonized Dion’s steps along the 7 day, 250 kilometer route. 

Nonetheless, he was forced to part with Gobi at the finish line. Now, he hopes to bring her home with him to Edinburg.

Mr. Leonard soon started a crowd-funding bid to raise the £5,000 required for medical and quarantine costs in order to take Gobi home with him.

That target has already been surpassed, with 231 backers already collecting over £7,700. Mr.Leonard reported to the BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland show that he and Gobi had fast created a bond.

“On day 2, Gobi decided to run with me on one of the sections, which amounted to about 25 to30 kilometers over the Tian Shan mountain range,” reported Mr. Leonard.

Actually, Gobi had been with the runners the previous day before the scheduled running date through one of the enormous sand dunes in China; hence she was well-acquitted with all the competitors. However, on the second day, she decided to stick with Mr. Leonard.

Leonard reports that Gobi would run ahead and wait for him 20 or 30 meters down the road, and then he’d have to catch up to her. He described Gobi as “A small dog with an enormous heart.”

There were moments during the race when he told himself he’s there to race and compete, and that he’s trying his best to win the race, but he would encounter some large rivers where he was forced to carry Gobi over them. Time was not on his side but by then he had realized that they had a bond and he had to take Gobi with him.

Where was Gobi before the race?

Mr. Leonard reported that Gobi was residing in the China desert, being taken care of by a friend.Plans were already underway to take Gobi to Beijing for medical tests and quarantine processes before she could be flown to the UK.

Mr. Leonard is hopeful that Gobi would make it to Scotland by Christmas time.

He cannot contain his excitement to be reunited once more with Gobi once more. In his words,he terms it as, “Would be best Christmas present ever.

”Mr. Leonard is grateful for all the support he got in funding, which undoubtedly made things easier.