LONDON (AP) — An ultra-marathon runner has been reunited with the stray dog that accompanied him through part of a grueling desert race in China and then went missing.

Dion Leonard says the stray befriended him as he took part in the 250-kilometer (155-mile) Gobi March race, part of the 4 Deserts race series. The dog followed him for much of the race. He vowed to take the dog, named Gobi, home to the U.K.

Leonard, an Australian who lives in Scotland, says the dog was in quarantine in China before traveling to the U.K. when she disappeared. Having learned that she ran away, he returned to China to find Gobi, using the power of social media to track her down.

Leonard told the BBC that "she was so excited to see me."