The touching story that went viral about Dion Lenard, a UK marathon runner and Gobi, a stray dog in China was not without its ups and downs. The saga continues to draw people's attention as the reunited pair visited Beijing last week.
Gobi accompanied Dion loyally throughout a grueling 7-day, 250-kilometer marathon across Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region back in June. However, before Dion could adopt Gobi and take her to the UK, Gobi went missing from the home of Dion's friends in Urumqi. Hearing the news, Dion flew back to Urumqi in late August and searched the streets with the help of volunteers for several days before finally reuniting with Gobi. Dion's excitement and joy was shared by numerous netizens from China and around the world as their story was covered by local, national and international media.
Dion returned to the UK on August 31 as Gobi still needed to go through several months of exit formalities and medical checks in Beijing. However only a week later, Dion was back in Beijing again after he asked for six months of unpaid leave from his boss. Dion decided to accompany his friend through the whole process before they can fly to the UK together.
According to Dion, Gobi is suffering from an injury on one of her legs. Dion is planning to send Gobi to a hospital in Beijing for surgery and to then help her recover.
Speaking of his journey so far with Gobi, Dion said it was an unbelievable experience with extraordinary meaning, he will not stop running and nor will Gobi, he added.
