Gobi the dog's marathon gets her a home

A stray dog who joined a marathon in the Gobi Desert won the heart of ultra-runner Dion Leonard - and people everywhere. [VIDEO]

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Beijing - An online donation project to get a Chinese stray dog to Britain has raised more than enough money.

The dog accompanied a Scottish athlete during a marathon in the Gobi Desert and became his friend, earning the name Gobi.

The online-funding project, called Bring Gobi Home and launched by ultra-runner Dion Leonard, has raised over 12 000 pounds (around 15,472 U.S. dollars), much exceeding the 5,000-pound target.

Leonard posted on Facebook and Twitter his many thanks to donors who were affected by the story.

During the 2016 Gobi March 4 Deserts race in China, the dog joined 101 runners from different countries, running most of the 250kms route over the Tian Shan Mountain down to the Black Gobi Desert in northwest China.

With high temperatures and drought, the race was torturous even for professional runners.

Gobi ran beside 41-year-old Leonard and followed him everywhere.

He shared food and water with her and decided to take her back home after winning the silver medal.

"When she came into camp (on Day 2) she followed me straight into my tent, laid down next to me and that was that - a bond has been developed," Leonard was quoted by media as saying. Adopting Gobi and bringing her from China to Scotland will cost 5,000 pounds for medical care, quarantine in both countries and transport.

 

Xinhau