Marathon Runner Reunites With Missing Canine Companion

Reunited and it feels so good.

That is what Dion Leonard must be saying after finding his long lost pup Gobi. Leonard made social media headlines after attempting to adopt the stray pooch who ran alongside him for a portion of the Gobi March 2016, China’s ultra-marathon through the Gobi desert. His constant canine companion was by his side since day two of the 4 Deserts Race, crossing several rivers together.

After returning home to Edinburgh, Scotland, Leonard began the process of adopting Gobi, and then the unthinkable happened.

On August 15, the Washington Post reported just before she was due to travel to Beijing to enter quarantine, Gobi disappeared, scampering out an open door in the Chinese city of Urumqi, where she was awaiting Leonard’s return. A post on Leonard’s Facebook page “Bring Gobi Home” said Gobi had gone missing for “a number of days” in Urumqi. The search was on with a “Find Gobi” Crowdfunder campaign, even reaching out to British airline mogul Richard Branson for help in locating her. His plea was to raise $6,600 which “would cover the costs of airfare, travel, accommodation, payment of people on the ground, printing flyers, etc.”

Look @richardbranson Gobi is so well behaved, deserves a 1st class seat up front with me to get home👍 #grateful pic.twitter.com/kwLP3WCkMn

— Finding Gobi (@findinggobi) August 25, 2016

Finding Gobi became an expensive endeavor as Mashable reported strangers donated $21,000 of which Leonard said would go to a dog charity. Another $13,200 raised was desperately needed to fly to China and find Gobi.

Then on Thursday after exhaustive weeks of searching, Leonard tweeted that Gobi had been found!

In amazing news just in from China, Gobi the ultra marathon running dog has been found https://t.co/0rK4wQbeJa pic.twitter.com/e099532G0E

— Dr Chris Brown (@drchrisbrown) August 24, 2016

Here is the video of the happy reunion of Gobi and Leonard, together again.

https://twitter.com/Oh_Yes_Please/status/768735909483282436