‘We’re going to be friends forever’: Ultra-marathon runner finds dog in the Gobi desert, tells story at downtown Bend Library
(Update: Adding video)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- At the downtown Bend Library Saturday, children were treated to a story, about a courageous and arduous journey, of a dog named Gobi.
Kids and their families, listened in on a picture book titled "Finding Gobi." The story follows an ultra-marathon runner, who saved the life of a lost little dog.
Dion Leonard was running a 155 mile, 7 day race across the gobi desert, when the dog came out of nowhere, to run alongside him.
Leonard said, "It's a real life changing moment because I start to think, wow, maybe I'm really, you know, meant to be with this dog and we're going to be friends forever."
Gobi ran, walked, jogged alongside Leonard for 80 miles.
After the race, Leonard returned home to Scotland, planning on coming back later to bring Gobi back to her new home, only to discover she went missing.
Leonard knew he had to return to China to find his lost friend.
He said, "Starts to get this big groundswell of people coming to help. They're just amazed that I'm out there for this little dog and I soon have ten people, then 20, then 50. Days later, hundreds of people searching for Gobi through the streets, through the parks."
A family eventually finds Gobi, brings her home, and calls Leonard.
Leonard said, "She came running towards me, jumped up in my arms and it was Gobi. So we found her. Unfortunately, she had been hit by a car while she was missing, so I have to stay in China for another four months getting Gobi's leg operated on, otherwise she would lose the leg forever."
Through those four months, Leonard and Gobi bonded for life, before flying all the way back to Scotland.
An attendee of the event, Charlie O'Neal, enjoyed meeting Gobi.
"I thought it was really cool because I got to see the actual dog, and the dog was very cute."
On Sunday, there will be another chance to hear about Gobi's story, at the downtown Bend Library, starting at 11 a.m.
