Gertrude LaRue receives typewritten and paw-written letters from her dog Ike, entreating her to let him leave the Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy and come back home.
When Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel, Mary Anne, lose their jobs to the gasoline, electric, and diesel motor shovels, they find a new opportunity in a very surprising place. Mike proves that, although dated, his steam shovel is still useful.