Runner reunited with stray dog

LONDON — An ultra-marathon runner has been reunited with the stray dog that accompanied him through part of a grueling desert race in China and then went missing.

Dion Leonard says the stray befriended him as he took part in the 250-kilometer Gobi March race, part of the 4 Deserts race series. The dog, which he named Gobi, followed him for much of the race, and he vowed to take her home to the U.K.

Leonard, who lives in Scotland, says the dog was about to be put into quarantine in preparation for the trip when she vanished. He returned to China to find Gobi.

“On Tuesday night, I received a phone call around 9 p.m. at night saying, ‘We’ve got Gobi. We think it is her. It looks like her in the posters, come round and have a look,’ “he told the BBC. “Thankfully we went over and as soon as I walked into the lounge she came running across the room and into my arms.”