Ultra marathon runner's plea to be reunited with canine Gobi desert pace setter

An ultra marathon runner found the perfect running mate in the unlikely form of a stray dog as he competed in the 4 Desert race.

Dion Leonard was adopted by the terrier as he competed in the Gobi desert section of the gruelling race where temperatures can reach 52C.

Leonard was forced to leave the dog - who he called Gobi after the desert they crossed together - with race chiefs in China and is now fighting to be reunited with his furry running chum.

The two formed a bond after Gobi joined Leonard and the rest of the running pack as they set off over the Tian Shan mountain in north west China.

"Nobody knew where Gobi came from," Leonard said. "The nearest village to the start line was three to five miles away."

The terrior took a shine to Leonard who told The Times that he thought she was attracted by his "bright yellow gaiters."

"She couldn't stop niping at them," he said.

Leonard, who came second in the race, credits Gobi with his performance.

"She's a fast dog," he said. "If anything, she was the pacesetter. The two days she didn't run with me, my times were slower."

Competitors in what is considered to be one of the toughest races in the world, have to carry all their own essentials, but that didn't stop Leonard carrying Gobi over rivers and giving her food and water from his own supplies.

Gobi even slept alongside him.

"She could've had rabies, but as the week went on I fell in love with her," Leonard told The Times.

"She basically had me wrapped around her little finger," he added.

Leonard told ITV News: "She's a tiny dog with a big heart. She was really quick, but if she ran ahead of me, she would stop and wait for me to catch up."

Sadly Leonard was forced to leave Gobi with race chiefs in China and is now fighting to be reunited with his furry running chum.

Leonard set up a Crowdfunder project to raise £5000 to pay for Gobi's care, quarantine and transport to bring the terrier back to Leonard's home town, Edinburgh.

After spreading the word on Twitter with the hashtag #bringGobihome, Leonard and Gobi's story has captured the heart of the nation and he has already smashed his original target, raising £5,565 as of Friday 29 July.

Leonard told ITV News: "It's quite a process bringing Gobi to Edinburgh, it's not as easy or as cheap as I thought. She's in the middle of nowhere.

"There will be four months of quarantine and medical time before she will be allowed into Scotland.

"Fingers crossed she'll be home for Christmas."

Leonard thinks Gobi will be perfectly at home in the Scottish city. "We found her on the cold side of the Tian Shan mountain range where it was cold, grey and miserable.

"She didn't adjust well to the heat once we crossed over into the desert, so I think she'll like Edinburgh."