Khemjira Klongsanun had spent months training for the Chombueng marathon in western Thailand, and when the big day came, she thought she was ready for anything. All was going well until Khemjira got about seven miles into the race, which is when something happened that she never expected!

As she ran, Khemjira saw a small, trembling puppy just off the side of the road. Most runners were trying to ignore the terrified Bangkaew, or Thai wolf dog, but Khemjira just couldn’t run past him without figuring out what was wrong.

Khemjira halted her race and walked over to the puppy slowly, not wanting to scare him any more than he already was. It was clear to her right away that the dog was a stray, and she did not feel that she could leave him behind in the scorching temperatures. That’s why Khemjira decided to pick up the dog and take him with her!

”It seemed to me that this little guy was lost,” Khemjira recalled. “There were no houses, no other dogs, or no people around. So, I picked up the puppy, if only to take him out of the unsafe environment.”

Refusing to quit the race, Khemjira ran the next 19 miles with the puppy under her arm. The two crossed the finish line together, and afterwards, she went about trying to find out if he had an owner. When nobody came forward, she adopted the puppy. In honor of the marathon that united them, Khemjira named her new fur baby Chombueng.

Find out more about their amazing story in the video below!