Adventure Race Winning Dog Story
This story will win and touch your hearts. A stray dog ran 430 miles off-road in Ecuador with a group of extreme racers to find his new home in Sweden. Read the story of Adventure Race winning dog Arthur, who will melt even the coldest hearts.
(Total 17 photos)
1. Peak Performance, a team of four Swedish athletes, traveled to Ecuador to take part in the 2014 Adventure Racing multisport event. Pictured here is the start of Adventure Racing 2014. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
2. Their goal was simple - to overcome a terribly difficult route - about 700 kilometers off-road in Ecuador. For about 10 days, the Peak Performance team had to run, walk, swim, climb, mountain bike ... Team members were ready for such difficulties, but this year the race surprised them very much, but not at all with its severity. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
3. During one of the stops before the start of the next part of the race - a 30-kilometer route through the Amazonian rainforest in a terrible stuffiness - tired athletes sat down to eat and relax. And then one of the team members - Mikael Lindnord - noticed an exhausted dirty dog that had nailed to them. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
4. The dog stood and watched the athletes eat their meatballs from cans. And then Mikael Lindnord, without thinking about what creates a special connection with the animal in this way, fed the dog. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
5. The athletes moved on, and the dog followed them. At first, for security reasons, they wanted to scare her away so that she would not run after them. This grueling race is hard on humans, not to mention a dog that has been hungry for a long time. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
6. But the mongrel did not give up and followed them everywhere. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
7. Ahead of the team were two more final stages of the race - six days of huge physical exertion. But the dog did not give in and continued to walk with them. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
8. Athletes got used to the presence of the dog and gave him the name Arthur. When the dog got tired and stopped, and they stopped next to him. When he got stuck in the mud, they pulled him out. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
9. When they were kayaking, the dog was swimming next to them. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
10. A team of four Swedish athletes and a dog. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
11. During the grueling races, the athletes became so attached to the dog that they could not leave her in Ecuador to her fate. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
12. Hardy dog at the finish line, completely exhausted. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
13. The athletes decided to take Arthur with them to Sweden. Thanks to Internet users, they managed to raise the necessary amount to transport the dog to another continent. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
14. While still in Ecuador, the Peak Performance team took Arthur to the vet to help him recuperate and check if he was okay. It turned out that the dog is sick and needs constant veterinary care and treatment, but the prognosis is good - the dog will get better. At this time, the athletes collected the documents necessary for the transportation of Arthur. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
15. November 19 all together - with the homeless Arthur - they flew from Quito in Ecuador home to Sweden. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
16. This story aroused great interest all over the world. The athletes decided to create a charity for homeless animals in need, which they called the Arthur Foundation (their website is teampeakperformance.se/arthur/). (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)
17. Upon arrival in Sweden, the four athletes and the dog were greeted by crowds of fans and photojournalists. Arthur, the dog who won the Adventure Race, one of the toughest races in the world, is now an internet star. (Photo: Krister Göransson / Peak Performance)