The plan was to journey twenty dangerous miles through the Ecuadorian rainforest for the 430-mile Adventure Racing World Championship. They were a team known as Team Peak Performance consisting of four Swedish athletes, until one day, they added a fifth member.
The four set out to participate in the 430-mile Adventure Racing World Championship. Their team name was Team Peak Performance.
The team was sitting around eating canned meatballs when one of the members, Mikael Lindord, noticed a stray dog staring at them. Feeling bad for the dog, Mikael gave him a meatball. What he didn’t expect was that the dog would follow the men when they left.
He started following them everywhere, not looking to give up. The dog went along as the team hiked, mountain biked, trekked, and kayaked. The team tried to get rid of him for his own safety, but the dog remained. So, with no choice left in the matter, they kept him and called him Arthur.
The team was sitting around eating canned meatballs one day when team member Mikael Lindord noticed a stray dog staring at them. He offered it food but noticed that from then on, the dog started following the team everywhere.
They eventually adopted the pup and named him Arthur. If Arthur got tired, they stopped. If he got stuck in the mud, they helped. When they napped, they slept side by side.
One of the segments of the race was a 36-mile kayak adventure, and organizers told the team that it would be too dangerous for Arthur. The men tried to paddle away quickly, but Arthur jumped into the water and swam beside them. Eventually, Mikael picked him up and put him in the kayak.
One part of the race required the team to jump into a kayak for a 36-mile trek. The organizers told Team Peak Performance that this leg of the race won’t be safe for Arthur; they were advised to leave him behind.
In the end, it took Peak Performance six days to finish the journey. Unfortunately, the dog suffered some injuries by the end of it all, so the team took Arthur to a vet in South America.
After everything, however, Mikael knew that he couldn’t leave Arthur behind, so he adopted him and decided to bring him back to Sweden. He applied to the Jordbruksverket, the Swedish Board of Agriculture, in hopes that he would be allowed to bring the dog back.
The dog, however, jumped into the water and started swimming along the kayak. Mikael then picked him up and put him in with them.
While Arthur remained in the vet, they prepared him to be able to go back to Sweden, just in case. The dog was forced to wear a cone on his head, but thankfully, his injuries weren’t too bad.
After the race, the team took the dog to the vet to treat him of the injuries he endured. They all decided that they would take him back to their home in Sweden. Mikael applied for adoption.
Then, they finally heard back and got good news. Arthur would be able to travel to Sweden! “I almost cried in front of the computer, when receiving the decision from Jordbruksverket in Sweden!” Mikael said.
After some time, once Arthur was healthy enough, it was time to go home. What a heartwarming story!
Arthur was good as new after a few days at the ver in South America. Days later, Mikael got a notice saying the adoption was approved—he was allowed to take Arthur back to Sweden once and for all!
A stray dog wanted food and found a home; Mikael went to win the World Championship and found a friend.
