Haddon Township man returning home after walking the world

HADDON TWP., New Jersey (WPVI) -- Move over Forrest Gump!

For the past seven years, a Camden County man has walked across the globe. Tom Turcich is the the latest person to complete this trek.

He will finally return home on Saturday with a world of experience and stories.

He documented his adventures on social media, calling his journey The World Walk.

Turcich didn't make history, but his walking companion did.

Savannah, the retriever he adopted early in his trip when he was passing through Texas, is now officially the first dog to walk around the world.

When Turcich left Haddon Township in 2015, it was the day before his 26th birthday. He's now 33 and he's heading home.

"It's been seven years of walking and 28,000 miles and 38 countries," Turcich says.

How will it feel to walk over the Ben Franklin Bridge on Saturday?

"I think it will be very surreal," he says. "That's what I walked over on my first day of walking. And to come back seven years later, I'm a very changed person. I can't even imagine who I was back then. It's so far away from who I am now."

When he lost two young friends as a teenager, Turcich says he was inspired to live every day to the fullest.

With the help of sponsors like Philadelphia Sign, he spent these past seven years experiencing everything from joy to danger.

He will share his stories in his next adventure: a book.

Turcich will cross the Ben Franklin Bridge Saturday at 3 p.m. A big homecoming will follow at the Tap Room in Haddon Township.

As for Savannah, he says the pup is seven years old now and retiring after this.