Pets come into our lives in mysterious ways. Sometimes you find an animal when and where you least expect them, but know you’re the person meant to take them home.

That was the case for one runner, who found an abandoned puppy in the middle of a marathon and decided to help her out — finishing the race with her in her arms and giving the dog a new home.

Khemjira Klongsanun was competing in a 26-mile Chombueng Marathon in western Thailand, when something on the side of the road caught her eye.

“I was running on the left side of the road and noticed that people kept dodging this particular spot. When I got to that spot, I saw a little tail wagging,” she told Coconuts Bangkok.

It was a scared little dog, a Thai bangkaew breed, and with no homes in the area Khemjira realized the dog must have been lost or abandoned.

“It seemed to me that this little guy was lost,” she recalled to Daily Mail. “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.”

Khemjira picked the tiny dog up, and continued the race with the animal in her arms. “Running almost 20 miles carrying dog was truly a challenge,” she said. “It was two times tiring than a normal marathon but I did it anyway just because he is adorable.”

After crossing the finish line, she tried to find the dog’s family, but it became clear she had no home.

So instead, Khemjira did something extraordinary: she adopted the dog herself!

Khemjira Klongsanun was running a marathon in Thailand when she saw an abandoned puppy on the road. Other runners didn’t care.

She bent down, picked him up, and carried him. The whole race. All 19 miles. At the end, he fell asleep on her kit.

Then she adopted him. pic.twitter.com/GDdtOrsdOM

— Muhammad Lila (@MuhammadLila) January 31, 2019
She named the dog Chombueng, in honor of the race that brought them together, and the dog soon settled in alongside her many other cats and dogs.

Months after first taking the dog in, Khemjira told Coconuts Bangkok that the Chombueng was growing up fast, and estimated that the dog was a two-month-old puppy when she first found her.

Khemjira is very passionate about animals: she has dozens of pets at home and said she hopes to be a 3 hectare plot of land to build a sanctuary for the animals.

What a sweet story. Thank you to Khemjira for truly going the extra mile to save this puppy and give her a home — even if you didn’t win the marathon you definitely got the top prize!