Meet Journey the Rescue Pup, the ‘Guardian Angel’ of Her Adoptive Family

While DNA tests say Journey is part golden retriever, husky, and foxhound, her adoptive dog mom swears she’s 100% unicorn.
By Sarah Gerrity May 31, 2021 Advertisement Pin FB More Tweet Email Send Text Message Print

When Sarah became a full-time caregiver for her aging parents, she knew she wanted to adopt a dog who would bring a little extra joy into the house. She searched for months to find the perfect pup to add to their family, and says that when she first laid eyes on Journey—an adorable golden retriever, Siberian husky, and American foxhound mix—she knew she was the one.

The pup was found in dire conditions and had been living on her own in the swamplands for quite some time. When the rescuers at Oscar's Cause in central Florida were finally able to catch the skittish stray and safely bring her into their facility, she was severely malnourished and weighed only 33 pounds. Most of her fur was missing, and Sarah tells Daily Paws that life had clearly been hard on this young dog. "She'd been on her own for a very long time," she says. "When I think about what she went through, my heart just breaks that an animal could be so scared, not know where its next meal was coming from, and not have a safe warm place to sleep."

Several adoption applications were submitted for Journey, so Sarah and her parents were more than thrilled when they were selected as her forever family. They even set up balloons and welcome banners with the pup's face printed on them for Journey to come home to!

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Since that very first day with their family, Sarah says her primary goal is to make sure Journey gets the love and joy that she deserves after an especially hard start to life. She joins in on all kinds of family fun—trips to the beach, cuddles on the couch, and even howls along to her own adorable song they sing together. "She is absolutely the heartbeat, the soul, and the guardian angel of our family," Sarah says. "I just want to spend the rest of her life making her happy and try to make up for what she went through before."

Sarah says that even though Journey had a rough start to life, she quickly adapted to her role in the family, bonding with Sarah's father immediately and being there to comfort him when he was sick. When he passed away, his doting pal Journey was by his side to comfort him, and there in the days after to help the family heal from their loss.

This smart pup even picked up Sarah's boyfriend Jeff's morning meditation routine… sitting next to him quietly, closing her eyes along with his before she crawls back into bed with Sarah. These days, you can find Journey playing fetch in her yard—all 58 pounds of her covered in thick, healthy, fluffy fur!