Gobi the marathon dog visits Central Library
Published 7:00 pm Sunday, January 19, 2020
Donna Price
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Not many non-service dogs are allowed in public libraries, but Gobi, a former-stray dog from China, beat the odds.
Gobi took a snooze in her new dog bed from PetCo on the second-floor of Central Library Wednesday night while her owners, Dion and Lucja Leonard, spoke about Dion’s New York Times best-selling book: “Finding Gobi: The Amazing True Story.”
The Leonards, who now live in Scotland, are ultrarunners who have participated in grueling races all over the world. At Wednesday night’s program, Dion Leonard talked about the 2016 ultra race in China’s Gobi Desert, where the little pup who came to be known after the desert she was found in latched herself on to him during a 155-mile, seven-day ultra marathon.
Donna Price
Gobi took a liking to Leonard as he trekked across Asia’s largest desert where temperatures get above 125 degrees F. in the day and below freezing at night. On the second day of the race, Gobi ran 25 miles with him, he said. Leonard did not yet know he and Gobi were to become an inseparable pair. But Gobi seemed to know. And soon Leonard knew it too.
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Leonard said he was crossing a churning river in water up to his waist on that second race day. He had left Gobi on the river bank behind him, because after all, this was not his dog and he was trying to run a race. But the little dog’s furious barking and whining got to him.
“In a split second I made the decision to go back and get her. And that was it,” he said.
Before the race was over, he had made the decision to bring Gobi home with him.
Donna Price
While Gobi did not run the entire race, she did run 78 miles in six days with Leonard.
When it became obvious that Gobi was Leonard’s new dog, race organizers took care of her and would see that the pair were reunited during resting stops.
As he worked to get the dog out of China and into Scotland, an acquaintance was keeping her in China. During this time, Gobi escaped and was lost. Leonard flew back to find her, offering a $1,500 reward for her return.
The story ends happily, with Gobi finally making it to Scotland six months after the race.
“Finding Gobi” is Leonard’s account of the race and his efforts to find the lost dog and bring her home.
The book has been published in 20 languages now, and propelled Gobi into celebrity-dog status. Gobi has met members of the royal family, has three passports and has visited 11 countries, Leonard said. A movie based on the book about her is in the works.
“One act of kindness — stopping to help Gobi across the river — changed my life forever,” said Leonard.
