Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast - The Unbelievable Story of Dion and Gobi

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

This is the story of Dion and Gobi, the little dog he found while running an ultramarathon through the Gobi desert.

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Call 1-800 gambler. So this guy is about to meet a dog in the desert, and this dog is going to change his life. Now the guy, his name is Dion, he's a marathon runner, he lives in Scotland, but one day, Dion decides he's going to compete in the Gobe March, which is a 155-mile ultra-marathon going through the Gobe Desert in Asia. So he travels to China to run this marathon. And then, bam, the race starts, and Dion and the other runners, they set off through the first part of it. And that night, the runners, they're all resting and they're sitting around a campfire, probably talking about how hard the day was.

And that's when Dion, he sees this little stray dog running around the camp. And this dog, she's approaching all the runners, and she's trying to get them to give her a bite of their food. Which is tough, because the runners have to carry all their own food with them for the week. So they have very limited supply of it. So Dion, he sees this dog and he's like, hell no, dog, go on. Then the next day, Dion and the other runners, they make. their way to the starting line. And then he looks down and there's that dumb little dog again, chewing at his shoes. And he's like, damn it, dog, go on! Get! And then the race starts and the dog is

like chewing at his feet for a whole quarter mile. And Dion's like getting annoyed, like, go on, get! And lucky for him, the dog finally disappears. And Dion is kind of relieved, because it's hard enough running through a desert without a stray animal trying to trip you up. But then, eight hours later, after running through a thick forest area, Dion looks down and there's a that stupid little dog again, running alongside him. And he's like, I said, go on. But the dog continues to follow him, running alongside him when he crosses the finish line to end the second day. And spectators and the people around all watching, they're all looking at this and they're cheering them both on. Yay, little dog. So then later, Dion gets some food from his supplies.

And that freaking little dog is still following him around. And at this point, he realizes this little dog probably hasn't eaten all day. And I guess, Yes, he feels bad because he gives the dog like half the meat he's eating. And the dog loves it. I'm numb, mnam, m'n, m'n, m'n. And you know, from this point on, he's f***ed. Because, like, once you feed a stray dog, it is not going to leave. So that night, the little dog curls up next to him and falls asleep.

And so Dion decides, okay, fine, she's not going to get it. So I'll just name her. And he names her Gobi after the desert they're running through. Then the next morning, sure enough, goby is there with him at the starting line. And she continues running right alongside him. Later that day, Dion is still running, and he comes up to a place where he has to cross a really wide river. So he wades into it, and he's walking through it, and he crosses, like, the worst part of it. But then he hears Goby back behind him, like whining and crying.

And he looks back, and he sees her, and she's still way back there. She's not jumping in this river. And Dion keeps moving forward, but Gobie just keeps whining and crying out. And so Dion, he decides to do something he's never done before. He turns around, and he goes back. He wades through the river and he grabs Gobe and he carries her the rest of the way over. And later, Dion is on to the fourth and fifth stages of this race. Now with these two parts of the race, the heat can easily get up to 110 degrees Fahrenheit

or whatever the Fcelsius. And Dion's worried that little Gobe will follow him into that heat. So he gives her to the race organizers and he asks them to hang on to her and transport her to the last stage of this race. And then, on the final day of that ultramarathon, Dion, he's about to finish. this race. So he's running and he rounds the corner and he heads toward the finish line. And Gobi, she sees him and she runs over to be with him and they finish the race together. And it's pretty cool because Dion actually gets second place. And in total, he and Gobi

ran 78 miles together. And their story is all heartwarming and the news picks it up and they write about it a bit. So Gobi and Deon end up having like fans now. And so Dion decides like, all right, fine. I guess I'll keep this stupid dog. But getting Gobi out of China. and back to Scotland isn't going to be easy. Because you can't just transport an animal from one country to another. Because there's like paperwork and fees and regulations. So Dion, he has to fly back to Scotland to start the paperwork to get Gobi out of China. Meanwhile, he leaves the dog in the care of one of the race organizers.

And she's going to look after him and everything's going to be fine. Until... One day, Gobi gets out and she runs away. And poor Dion, he hears about this and he is devastated. And no one can find Gobi and take him. 10 days go by and there's still no sign of the dog. So Dion, he decides to take action. He posts all about it on social media.

He contacts a dog charity in China and they start printing missing flyers and posting them all over town. Dion even offers a reward of 1,000 pounds or about 1,300 US dollars to anyone who can give them information on where Gobi might be. But still, they get no leads. So then the fans of Gobi and Dion, and apparently there are hundreds of them, they start to look around town for Gobi. And Dion, he flies back to China to join them in the search. And so he gets there and he scours the city. And he and the fans, they put up over 30,000 flyers. And a week goes by. But still, there's no sign of his little friend. And Dion, he starts to get really worried. Because like,

what if Gobi were stolen? What if Gobi was taken and is now somehow part of the dog meat trade? Which apparently is a real thing in China. So Dion is super worried. But then he gets a text. And he checks his phone and it's from some anonymous person. And it's saying, hey, we think we found your dog. And Dion, he's a little suspicious. But this is the biggest lead they've got so far. So he drives across the city and he goes to this like small apartment.

And there he meets this family. And this family's like, uh, we think this dog might be the one you're looking for. And sure enough, when that dog sees Dion, she goes apesh because it's Goby. And Gobi is just all over him. And finally, after all that, they are reunited. And eventually, Dion is able to bring her back to Scotland to live with him, and here they are in real life. The good ending.