The dramatic lost-and-found tale of Gobi, the stray dog that stole the hearts of readers and runners last month, ended well for the dog and for her owner, Dion Leonard.
Leonard, an Australian-born ultramarathoner, first met Gobi in June when he was racing in the 4 Deserts ultramarathon in the Gobi desert.
Gobi appeared halfway through the race and wouldn’t leave Leonard’s side.
READ MORE: Ultramarathoner adopts stray dog that followed him during race
Gobi and Leonard had to separate after the race as the dog was required to stay in a months-long quarantine in China before she could join Leonard and his family in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was being looked after in Urumqi, China when on Aug. 15 she escaped through an open door.
Leonard returned to China to search for the dog with which he said he had a “magic bond.”
Even with the help of local media, volunteers and a social media campaign, Leonard admitted in an interview with BBC Radio that he started to lose hope.
“I needed to come and do it, just to be sure in my own mind I had done it,” he said.
“But realistically, I was dreading having to go back home next week without her.”
Then on Wednesday, Leonard received a phone call from a man who said he saw a stray dog at the park. The man brought the stray back to his home and waited for Leonard to come see if it was Gobi.
“To be honest we’ve been down this track before with a couple of other dogs and we were quite uncertain it was actually her,” he said.
“When we got there, I walked through the door and she came running towards me and ran around my legs and jumped on me,” he said.
“It was love again at immediate sight.”
Calling their reunion a “miracle,” Leonard is planning on visiting Gobi a couple more times during her 120-day quarantine in Beijing. He hopes to bring her permanently to Edinburgh by Christmas.