Finding Gobi: The true story of one little dog’s big journey. Dion Leonard

a deep breath, he took a careful step into the water. It was surprisingly cold considering how warm the day was, and he sank down up to his waist, but that was it. At least the riverbed seemed solid. He could make his way across, he just had to go slowly. One wrong step and he’d get completely wet. Plus he could hurt himself since he couldn’t see where he was putting his feet. This was going to take a while.

      Gobi watched as the man plunged into the water. She wagged her tail, but he didn’t look her way. He was clearly busy concentrating. She sat down just beside the water and watched. Surely he would turn around and notice that she wasn’t with him. But several minutes passed, and he got further and further away. Finally Gobi couldn’t take it any longer. She began anxiously running up and down the river bank. Was the man going to leave her?

      At the sound of her bark, Dion stopped. He always made a point of facing forward, always forward, during a race. There was no point in looking behind you, after all. It was just about what lay ahead. But this time he did glance back. Gobi was sitting at the river’s edge, barking and whining, anxious that Dion was going to leave her. It was the same thing she’d done at the creek the day before. She made it across that somehow, Dion told himself. She can do the same here.

      Except this wasn’t the same. The creek had been only a few feet wide, and not much deeper than his ankles. This was at least a hundred feet across and waist-deep on him. There was no way the little dog could cross that on her own, not unless she knew how to swim. And if she could swim, wouldn’t she already be doing that?

      Not my problem, Dion told himself. He was here for the race. That was it. He hadn’t asked for Gobi to follow him. That was on her.

      But he’d fed her. And given her water. And named her. And he had to admit, he liked having her with him. She lifted his spirits.

      And right now, listening to her whimper and whine as he left her behind nearly broke his heart.

      “Oh, fine!” Dion declared at last. Turning carefully, he started to make his way back. The second she saw him turn around, Gobi was on her feet, tail wagging furiously, her whimpers changing to happy barks.

      He was coming back! Gobi was ecstatic! She barked with joy and even pranced in circles as she waited for the man to reach her.

      When he was close enough, Dion reached out one long arm and scooped Gobi up off the ground. Then he hugged her to his chest. The little dog lifted her head and licked his cheek, which tickled. Dion laughed.

      “Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome,” he told her. “Now let’s get going, okay? Just try not to squirm too much. This is going to be tough as it is.”

      And it was. Before, Dion had kept his arms out for balance. Now one of them was clutching Gobi instead. That meant he only had one arm free. He had to go even more slowly and more carefully than before. And he still slipped a few times, though never enough to go completely underwater.

      Through it all, Gobi was amazingly good. She didn’t struggle at all. She didn’t bark. She didn’t whimper. She just snuggled up against his chest and watched as they slowly inched their way across the river.

      Once they’d reached the other side, Dion set her down. She quickly circled him, barking and wagging her tail. Then she nipped at his shoes.

      “Yeah, yeah, we’re going,” he agreed. He was tired from the river crossing, but he knew he couldn’t stop now. Especially not with Tommy already so far ahead.

      Remembering what Tommy had done earlier was enough to make Dion mad all over again. But this time, instead of frustrating him, that anger gave him strength.

      “Let’s go,” he told Gobi. “Let’s see what we can do to cut down his lead.”

      She barked once, and when he set off she settled in beside him, matching his pace perfectly. Dion shook his head. He didn’t know where she’d come from, but this little dog sure could run!

      The day was winding down, and Dion guessed that the finish line would be visible from the top of the next hill. He and Gobi had kept up a steady pace since the river, and he was pleased with their progress. Once or twice he’d caught a few glimpses of two other runners up ahead. That had to be Tommy and Julien, because no one else had passed him. But the path had twisted enough that Dion hadn’t been able to tell how far ahead they were.

      Now, as he reached the top of the hill, he looked – and stared. What? he thought. There, past a series of small hills, was the finish line, and the tents beyond it. And there were Tommy and Julien, still only halfway there! How was that even possible? Dion had been sure the other two would have finished already.

      But they hadn’t. In fact, they seemed to be walking. They must have used up too much energy getting across the river.

      Which gave him an idea.

      “Come on, Gobi,” he told her. He hurried down the hill, then raced up the next one. But he slowed just before he reached the top and moved as carefully and quietly as he could. He was tall and thin and dressed all in yellow – if Tommy and Julien looked back, they’d definitely see him. So he sprinted when he was out of sight, and moved quietly when he was visible at the top. And the other two runners didn’t look back.

      The distance between them started to shrink. Dion ran down each hill and back up as fast as he could, then moved quietly across the top. Gobi somehow understood his intent, because she didn’t bark or yip at all. She was as silent as a ghost, though her tail wagged furiously. It was clear she thought this was the best game ever. Together they ran, and Tommy and Julien got closer and closer. But so did the finish line.

      Finally, Dion crested the last hill. He was no more than a few hundred feet behind the other two. This time he crept down the hill as well, and together he and Gobi snuck up on the two runners, moving as fast as they dared.

      Amazingly, Tommy and Julien didn’t look back. Were they that tired? Dion had had a lot of practice running in the heat – he was from Australia originally, so he knew all about hot days. Maybe Tommy and Julien weren’t as comfortable in the high temperatures. Whatever the reason, the gap between them kept shrinking. A hundred feet. Eighty feet. Sixty feet. Forty. Twenty.

      Dion’s foot must have scuffed a rock, or maybe it was his shadow suddenly appearing near them, because Julien finally glanced back and saw him. Dion grinned. Too late!

      He put on a burst of speed. Gobi barked and sped up to match him. Together they sprinted past Julien. Then past Tommy.

      Dion saw Tommy’s eyes widen as they raced by. Tommy struggled to catch up, but staying out in front had worn him out. He just didn’t have enough strength left to match Dion’s sudden surge forward.

      Dion charged past. He crossed the finish line first, with Gobi right beside him. The race volunteers all clapped and cheered. “That was amazing,” one of them told him. “You’re having a super race!”

      Dion smiled and nodded. It was true. He’d come in third the first day and fourth the second, but today he’d come in first. That put him in really good shape. “I owe a lot of it to my little good luck charm here,” he said, kneeling down to ruffle Gobi’s fur. She barked and licked his face. “Isn’t that right, Gobi?”

      When he straightened back up, though, Dion was all business. “Can I come by and talk to you later about what happened before the first checkpoint?” he asked the organiser. “I need to clear my head first.”

      “Sure,” she agreed.

      The organisers did take Dion seriously this