A beloved dachshund has been reunited with her family after a marathon global journey that went very badly wrong.

Pipsqueak and her Australian family were on a four-year sailing trip, taking in many of the world’s most amazing sites when the pandemic hit in March.

Owners Zoe and Guy Eilbeck and their children rushed home to Sydney, but Pipsqueak was stuck.

Pipsqueak on holiday with her family in NYC.

In the months since, the brave little sausage dog has endured an incredible 17,000 kilometre journey home to Sydney – via North and South Carolina, Los Angeles, Auckland and Melbourne. She was cared for by a string of strangers along the way.

But even on the final leg of her epic trip, Pipsqueak was again at risk of being left behind.

She was booked on a cargo flight from Melbourne to Sydney this week, but it was full. It appeared Pip faced a very long walk home – made even longer by those tiny little legs.

After hearing her story, Virgin Australia came to the rescue. Pip was booked on the next available flight to Sydney.

Crew member Olivia Cayzer said the tiny canine was given the VIP service.

“Pip disembarked the flight before anyone else and was then ushered through the terminal to be reunited with her family,” she said.

There inside the terminal, the whole Eilbeck family was waiting to be reunited with Pip.

“She’s part of our family and it’s been five months and that’s a long time to miss anybody,” Mr Eilbeck said.

Pipsqueak is finally home after her five-month journey.

Virgin Australia group general manager cargo Glen Moloney said the airline was thrilled to have helped reunite the dachshund with her family after many months and thousands of kilometres apart.

“During these difficult times it’s nice to be able to put a smile on someone’s face” he said.