Sorry, there… cough… seems to be something in our eye… sniff…

If ever a video proved that dog is truly man/woman’s best mate, this is it. In November 2014, the Swedish Peak Performance team were slogging through the final stages of a gruelling 700k rainforest adventure sprint across Ecuador in November when they stumbled across a whiffy-but-loveable stray dog, who they named Arthur.

Team captain Mikael Lindnord fed the dishevelled mutt a meatball and, from that moment on, the canine hobo didn’t leave the team’s side. He even swam out into raging waters when the team leapt into their kayak to tackle a raging river.

Press play on the vid above, but be warned: if you’re in a public place, you’re about to choke up like you’re watching the final five minutes of Toy Story 3.

Adventure Racing World Series: Ecuador STATS

Race length: 700k; around 120 hours

Disciplines: Rafting, kayaking (ocean and river), mountain biking, trekking, ropes, coasteering, canyoning

Team size: Unlimited

Training commitment levels: Six months at eight hours per week

Mad enough to take part? Visit the Adventure Race World Series website for more info