The movie “A Dog’s Way Home” comes to life as a tiny dog travels thousands of miles to be reunited with her family. Pipsqueak, or Pip as her family likes to call her, got separated from them due to the pandemic.
Thanks to the help of several people, she’s back home in Australia. Her family, the Eilbecks, first came across Pip, the Dachshund, while they were in Messina, Sicily, back in 2018. They adopted her then and there, and since then, they’ve been enjoying their four-year sailing adventure.
However, their sailing trip was put to an end in March because of the pandemic. Australia announced that they were closing their borders. With limited time, the Eilbecks had to dock their boat in South Carolina and return home.
Unfortunately, Pip had to stay in the U.S. because Australia has strict border regulations. It would take a lot of paperwork and a lengthy period before Pip can be authorized inside the country. The Eilbecks had no other choice but to process it when they reach home. Luckily, Zoe Eilbeck has her friend, Lynn Williams, in North Carolina to help care for Pip. But Williams couldn’t take in Pip for very long, so she had to find another guardian to step in.
After eight days of searching, Pip moved in with Ellen Steinberg and stayed with her for three months. During that time, Zoe was processing the endless paperwork for Pip’s flight from America to Australia. Then, when Steinberg had to travel, her friend Stacey Green watched over Pip for a few weeks.
Around July, the paperwork and medical clearance were finally completed. Pip could now start her journey home. Flying cargo was out of the question. So Zoe had to look for a volunteer who could travel with Pip from the east coast to the west. That’s when pet rescuer Melissa Young stepped in. She traveled with Pip from Greensboro to Charlotte, North Carolina. After that, they both flew from Charlotte to Los Angeles.
The Dachshund was then handed to the pet transport company, Jetpets. From Los Angeles, Jetpets flew her to Auckland. And upon reaching Auckland, Pip went on an overnight quarantine before traveling to Melbourne, where she had to quarantine for ten days.
Pip was scheduled to arrive in Sydney on August 3. However, the plan didn’t come through because of the lockdown and several canceled flights. Fortunately, Virgin Australia heard about Pip’s story and agreed to fly her home. The 10,000 miles of distance and five months of being apart finally reached its end. Pip was reunited with her family at Sydney Airport on August 11.
Source: Virgin Australia via YouTube