An unbelievably loyal stray dog followed a team of Swedish athletes throughout their demanding 430-mile endurance race through the Amazonian rain forest.

The Swedish Peak Performance team was in Ecuador in November to compete in the Adventure Racing World Championship when the dog, later named Arthur, approached them.  One of the athletes, Mikael Lindnord, felt sorry for the poor, scruffy dog who came upon them while they were eating and fed him some meatballs.

And that’s how they became best friends, as far as Arthur was concerned.

The pooch followed them and eventually became a member of the team.  He simply refused to leave them.  For instance, when they had to use kayaks, Arthur swam alongside.  Here’s how the team described that day:

The organization gave the advice not to bring dog Arthur out on the last leg — a dog in the kayak didn’t seem like a great idea — and the team was going to follow this advice.

Mike, Simon, Staffan and Karen put their kayaks down in the water and set off, but Arthur refused to be left and started swimming. This was too heartbreaking for the team, and Mikael helped Arthur up in the kayak. This led to standing ovations from everyone on the shore, seeing the five (!) team mates set off.

When their adventure ended, Lindnord realized that the pooch also became his best friend and decided to take him to Sweden.  After some minor troubles, he managed to bring him to his native country.

Arthur is in the dog quarantine in Stockholm, where he has to be for 120 days before he can go home to Örnsköldsvik, where he will live with the Lindnord family. A team member visited him today and there will be more visits during these months — but Arthur also has to be given time to relax and adapt to his new settings!