Dion Leonard - Finding Gobi: The True Story of One Little Dog’s Big Journey

2017 by Dion Leonard

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The photographer for pages one and three of the photo section is Jasper James.

Epub Edition July 2017 ISBN 9780718075323

ISBN 978-0-7180-7531-6 (softcover)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Leonard, Dion, author.

Title: Finding Gobi : the true story of one little dogs big journey / Dion

Leonard.

Description: Nashville, Tennessee : Thomas Nelson, [2017] | Audience: Age

8-12.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017013171 | ISBN 9780718075316 (softcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Dogs--Biography--Juvenile literature. | Dogs--China--Gobi

Desert (Mongolia and China)--Biography. | Male long-distance runners--Scotland--Edinburgh--Biography. | Leonard, Dion--Scotland--Edinburgh. | Human-animal relationships.

Classification: LCC SF426.5 .L463 2018 | DDC 636.70092/9--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017013171

Printed in the United States of America

17 18 19 20 21 LSC 6 5 4 3 2 1

Mfr LSC-H/Harrisonburg, VA/July2017/PO#9445595

To all dog lovers: no matter where life takes

you, your dog will always be there for you.

HEY, CHECK OUT THE DOG! A MAN SHOUTED from somewhere in the crowd. Maybe its here for the race!

Is that right, girl? another man asked, bending down to scratch her behind the ears. Are you here to run with us?

The dog didnt know what to make of all this. There were a lot of people, more than she would have expected out here away from town and right on the edge of the desert. Most of them were dressed funny, but they were nice. Many of the runners stopped to pet her, and more than a few gave her scraps of food.

She was hungry. She was always hungry. She couldnt remember a time when she hadnt been hungry. These people seemed to like her, and when she danced around them they fed her. So she danced. And got fed. And everyone was happy.

Then she saw him. He wasnt feeding her. He wasnt laughing or shouting. He wasnt even standing with most of the other people. He was off to the side, shifting back and forth on his big feet. He was tall and skinny, and dressed all in bright yellow. He looked funny, but he wasnt smiling.

The dog didnt know what to make of this tall man. But she decided that she wanted to find out more about him.

Well, hello there, Dion Leonard muttered, glancing down at the small bundle of sandy-colored fur bounding around his feet. Where did you come from?

She wasnt a very big dog, he noticed. She was small and compact, and she had big dark eyes and tufts of fur around her mouth that made it look as though she had a mustache and beard. Hed seen her with a bunch of the other runners earlier, doing tricks for food. But for some reason shed singled him out.

It was probably his gear. Dions running clothes and even his shoes were all bright yellow. He knew he probably lit up like a neon light.

He reached down and patted the dog, but he didnt have time to give her too much attention. Todays portion of the race was about to start, and he needed to be ready.

This multistage ultra race would stretch in six stages over seven days and cover almost 155 miles. Dion had never been to China before, but he had done other multistage races like this. He used to be good at them. Then hed hurt his leg. It had been a while since hed entered a race, and he was worried. This was his last chance, he figured. If he didnt do well in this race, he might as well just quit completely.

He didnt want to quit, though. He wanted to compete wellnot necessarily come in first; he wasnt expecting that, but make it into the top handful, at least. Even placing fourth would be enough to show that he could still do this.

Yesterday had been the first day and he had come in third, so that was an excellent start. But to stay in that top handful, he needed to concentrate. And that meant not spending any more time with somebodys dog, no matter how cute she was.

Better get back to your owner now, he murmured, leaning over to pet her one last time. She looked up at him with those big eyes, almost as if she understood him, and barked once. But she didnt go away.

Take your positions! one of the race organizers shouted. Everyone tensed and moved to the starting line, completing final stretches. Dion was already done with all of that. He just made sure his shoes were tied tight and his backpack was securely on, and concentrated on the path up ahead. Little pink flags marked the way.

The starting gun sounded, and they were off! Dion didnt try to push past people. This wasnt that kind of race. You had to keep up a good pace, but it was more about endurance than bursts of speed. He knew enough to pace himself. The racers who sprinted out in front now would be worn-out later. He had plenty of time.

He concentrated on his footing and his pace but was startled when a small blur appeared by his foot. It was the dog! She hadnt gone away, and now she was running alongside him! Her little legs moved fast, but she was keeping pace.

Despite himself, Dion laughed. All right, he told her. If you want to come with me, you can. As long as you can keep up.

The dog barked in response. And kept right on running.

This is fun! the little dog thought. The bright-yellow man was nice after allhed petted her and talked to her, and hed laughed when she started running with him. She liked to run. It was nice to feel the fresh air and watch the ground speeding by beneath her feet. He seemed to like it too. So she settled in and ran with him. They ran together.

A lot of runners listened to music when they ran. Dion didnt most of the timehe preferred to keep his eyes and ears open. But he did get lost in his thoughts. A part of his brain concentrated on his footing, and the path, and the sun overhead, and the other runners. But a lot of him just tuned out. He thought about his wife, Lucja, back in Edinburgh, his job, his friends, his family. It helped the time pass quickly.

He wasnt too surprised when he glanced down at one point and didnt see any sign of the dog. She must have gotten bored or tired or distracted and decided to quit. That was fine. It had been nice having someone to run with, but Dion wasnt here to make friends, even with a dog.

He was here to compete at his best. And now that he didnt have to worry about tripping over the dog, he picked up his pace even more.

Time to get serious about this race.