Dog who refused to be left behind is melting hearts around the world

The newest member of Sweden's Team Peak Performance is Arthur, a stray dog from Ecuador who joined them on the experience of a lifetime.

The team was participating in the 430-mile Adventure Racing World Championship earlier this month when member Mikael Lindnord gave the dog part of a meatball. The stray began to follow the team as they hiked and biked through the Amazon, and the athletes gave their new friend a name: Arthur. It looked like their journey together would be cut short once the team began the kayaking portion of the race, when organizers said to leave Arthur behind.

Arthur refused to go along with the plan, and began to swim. On Facebook, the team wrote that "this was too heartbreaking, and Mikael helped Arthur up into the kayak. This led to standing ovations from everyone on the shore, seeing the five teammates set off." They finished the race in six days, coming in 12th place, and Lindnord was able to bring Arthur back to Sweden using funds raised via Twitter.

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Arthur has been treated for a wound he received before meeting the team, and once he is released from a mandatory quarantine in Stockholm, will start his new life in Örnsköldsvik with Lindnord's family. The team has also started the Arthur Foundation, to help other dogs who have been abused or neglected. --Catherine Garcia