Journey Dog Names

One of the most heartwarming dog stories was titled, ‘The Incredible Journey’. The story was written by Scottish author Sheila Burnford. The children’s book was first published in 1961. The story tells about the incredible 3,000-mile trek undertaken by three pets in search of their owners. It takes place in Canada, so the threesome experience many wilderness-focused adventures.

The three pets, a Bull Terrier, a Labrador Retriever, and a Siamese cat, are loosely based on pets owned by Sheila Burnford. When the book was first released it received modest reviews and was heralded as a children’s novel even though the author said she wrote it for all age groups. Disney adapted a movie from the book in 1963 that also experienced only modest success. It was not until the 1993 film adaptation known as,  ‘Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey,’ hit the movie theaters that the story developed a huge fan base. It ended up grossing $41,833,324 in the United States alone. 

One of the key characters in both the book and movie is the American Bulldog. In the book and original movie, the Bulldog's name is Bodger. Bodger was an aging canine in the book and movie but in the 1993 blockbuster the Bulldog is referred to as Chance and he does not possess the same noble attitude as the former canine. He is also not old. The voice of Chance in the movie is that of Michael J. Fox.

Chance is a self-absorbed dog who is always getting into trouble. Even during the wedding of his owner, Chance disregards the festivities and digs into the lovely wedding cake much to the horror of everyone.

After the wedding, the trio’s owners plan on moving to San Francisco so they entrust their pets with a family friend while they make the moving arrangements. Unfortunately, Chance convinces Shadow, who is a Golden Retriever, and Sassy, who is a Himalayan Siamese, that they have been abandoned by their newly married owner. They set out across the rugged wilderness to find their old home.

Shadow uses his age and nose to lead the group. The dogs both try their best to gather food in the woods. When they reach a river country, Sassy cat is swept away and found by a kind man who works to restore her health. Chance and Shadow continue to try to survive. During one extremely perilous time, Chance turns to Shadow and confesses where he has hidden everything in the backyard of their old house, such as the remote control and missing items. Finally, Sassy hears the dogs barking and runs off to join her friends and they all continue on their journey together. 

At one point during the movie, Chance tries to befriend a porcupine but all he receives for his friendly gesture is a mouth full of quills. Chance is eventually captured by humans when they reach civilization. He is taken to an animals shelter. Chance has been in the pound before and he is deeply distressed. Once at the shelter, the staff removes the quills from his muzzle. He doesn’t remain in the shelter long because Sassy and Shadow plot his escape and eventually carry out a daring rescue mission to recover their friend.

During the final leg of their journey, Sassy falls into a hole near the railroad tracks. Shadow stays with her while Chance runs home for help. The family follows Chance back to rescue his friends. In the end, the dogs and cat discover they were never abandoned at the friend's house and they end up all living happily together.

In 1996, 'Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey' was followed by 'Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco'. It was also a success and grossed over 32 million at the box office, although, many fans would say that it was not as well received as the first movie. Nonetheless, both pet journeys capture the hearts of the audience and leave an undeniably memorable impression on everyone who watches the iconic movies