After T.D. introduces the episode (with a guitar he doesn't know how to play), Martha narrates that she's a lucky dog, but that luck can quickly change, and she had bad luck last week and wrote a song about it. She then explains that the story is about losing one's freedom.
We cut back to the previous week, with Helen attempting to bathe Martha, who Hates Baths. She bathes Martha (while trying to get her to consider herself lucky she's not a stray), dries her, and then leaves to take out the trash for Mariella. She doesn't put Martha's collar back on, so Martha tries to get it herself, but she knocks the shower curtain down and sends the collar falling out of the window. To make matters worse, it falls in the trash, and Helen doesn't notice and takes the trash bin to the kerb.
The bin gets emptied into the truck, which then drives off, with Martha giving chase. The garbageman sees Martha in the rear-view and phones up the dog pound owner, Kazuo, describing her as "out of control". Kazuo drives over to where the garbage truck has stopped, and Martha is trying to yell to the garbageman to let her search for her collar, but he can't hear her. When Kazuo approaches, she tries to explain to him, but he can't hear her either as he's listening to music, so he grabs her and takes her to the pound. When she's put in her cage, Martha says, "I have a family!", but a bulldog explains (through barking) that all the residents claimed to have families.
Back at the Lorraine house, Helen is worried about Martha, but the parents are confident that Martha is okay. Helen worries that Martha feels neglected, but Danny reassures her that they take good care of her. When he mentions that they wash her, Helen remembers that she never put Martha's collar back on, so Danny phones the animal shelter. However, seeing as Kazuo never heard Martha talk, when Danny asks about a talking dog, he thinks it's a prank call.
That night at the pound, the bulldog introduces himself as Pops. Martha asks what he's "in for", and Pops explains that he used to belong to a garbageman and be employed as a guard dog, but when the garbageman no longer needed a guard dog due to a new job, he abandoned Pops without bothering to rehome him. Then, the rest of the dogs' backstories are revealed — Miranda used to belong to a wealthy old lady, but she put her up for adoption upon realising Miranda didn't match the drapes, Estelle's owners moved to an apartment that didn't allow pets, and Streak, Butterscotch, and Mandarin were given to the pound as soon as they were old enough to leave their mother. Pops then scorns Martha for being luckier than he is, so she decides to come up with a plan to get everyone out of the pound.
She tries launching dog biscuits at the button that opens the door, but when they aren't heavy enough, she remembers how her collar got flung through the air and uses her bowl to fling a chewie toy through the air. This hits the button and the door opens, but unfortunately, she can't figure out how to open the cages. Luckily, she finds a pigeon and convinces it to set her free in exchange for birdseed belonging to the Lorraines' neighbours. Once Martha is free, she sets the rest of them free, but Kazuo catches them and locks the door before the majority of them can escape. Martha and Pops try to make a run for it, but she doesn't feel right about escaping without the others, and is caught by Kazuo. She tries to explain, but Kazuo, seemingly not caring that Martha can talk, tries to explain that Pops has tried escaping several times before, but it's never worked out. He then re-cages all the dogs and explains that trying to escape doesn't help and he's trying to rehome them.
Part two of the episode begins the next morning, with all of the dogs blaming Martha for being in their cages. Kazuo enters and feeds the dogs, but refuses Martha's request to phone the Lorraines. He claims that it's so the other dogs don't try using the phone, then when she asks if someone called, he remembers Danny's phone call but isn't sure she's the same talking dog. However, she eventually convinces him to phone up the Lorraines. Helen was relieved, but yelled at Martha for running crazy. While waiting to be picked up, she asks why it's hard to rehome the other dogs, and Kazuo supposes that people just don't know about them.
Helen and Mariella come to retrieve Martha, but she refuses to leave until the other dogs are adopted. Helen wants to adopt them all, but Mariella thinks that would be too many. Helen and Martha go outside to think of ideas, and Martha suggests sneaking into people's houses and giving them dogs at night. However, Helen is against the plan because doing it that way might lead to the dogs ending up with bad owners. When the International Icon show starts playing nearby, they both get the idea of putting on a talent show.
However, the pound dogs scoff at the idea, but Kazuo thinks it has potential, and eventually the dogs agree to it. Helen and T.D. hand out flyers advertising the show to every child with no dogs, while Martha tries to teach the dogs how to impress humans. She tells the puppies to show affection, then tells Pops and Wally (a pointer) to show off their skills. However, Pops just growls and Wally rolls in mud. Martha tries to teach the other dogs how to wiggle and show their bellies to show affection, but most of them are bad at it, and Pops doesn't even try.
On the day of the show, Helen explains that Wally is loyal and that he almost lost an ear protecting his last owner from a wild bear (though it's unknown if it's true). He does several tricks and is adopted by a boy and his father despite the fact that they fly a lot. While Estelle does tricks, Martha explains that she's elegant, devoted, and doesn't shed, which wins over a neat freak woman, who adopts her, to the happiness of her daughter. Then, Butterscotch, Streak, and Mandarin are adopted by three young sisters. Pops, however, still isn't adopted, and when Martha introduces him, no one claims him. Luckily, however, Kazuo adopts him, and Martha's life returns to normal.
This episode provides examples of
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: The dog on the flyer wears a top hat.
- Alliterative Title: The International Icon show features.
- Animal Jingoism: Pops apparently barked at cats in the past.
- Anger Born of Worry: Helen does this to Martha. She scolds the talking dog for running out of the house. Kazuo even lampshades that she cares for Martha enough to yell that loud.
- Bears Are Bad News: Apparently, Wally's cut in his ear happened as the result of him protecting his last owner from a wild bear. (Though, it's unknown if it's true.)
- Big "NO!": Martha yells, "NO!" as her collar falls out the window.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Martha shouts, "Quiet!" when Butterscotch, Streak, and Mandarin try to express affection by running in circles barking.
- Big "YES!": Martha says, "YES!" when she opens the door, and so does the boy when his father agrees to adopt Wally.
- Bird-Poop Gag: When Martha talks about how bad luck can happen quickly, a bird poops on the Lorraines' car as Danny is washing it.
- Bully Bulldog: Subverted for Pops, who seems kind of grumpy towards Martha at first, but he turns out to be a big softie at heart.
- Comically Missing the Point: Kazuo insists that Martha bark once for one dog food and twice for the other despite the fact that she can talk, then when she asks if someone called, he says, "Someone did call about a talking dog, but how do I know you're that talking dog?".
- Continuity Nod: The Lorraine parents note that Martha has been gone for longer, and Danny suggests that she might have gotten a job on the radio or something. That's what happened in "Martha Runs Away".
- Covered in Mud: Wally rolls in some mud and then shakes himself, coating him, Kazuo, Martha, Estelle, and the puppies all in mud.
- Delayed Reaction:
- When Danny asks Kazuo if he's keeping a talking dog, Kazuo mentions having to check his records, before doing a double take and saying, "Talking dog?!".
- Martha initially thinks she and the other pound dogs are free when she opens the door, belatedly realizing the cages are still shut.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Martha describes her plan as "work, work, work, work, and more work".
- Dog Stereotype:
- Downplayed. Miranda partially fits the "poodle belonging to a rich owner" stereotype, but the owner gave her up, and she's not a full-blooded poodle, but rather a cross-breed.
- Estelle is a full-blooded poodle, and she's described as elegant.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Helen and Martha are inspired to make a talent show after hearing one playing.
- Fake Rabies: Implied when the garbageman is especially concerned by the fact that Martha is covered in foam (which is actually soap from when she fell in the bathtub trying to retrieve her collar).
- Filthy Fun: Wally likes rolling in mud.
- Flashback: The pasts of Pops and Miranda are shown onscreen.
- Food as Bribe: Martha convinces the pigeon to free her by promising birdseed from her owners' neighbors.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Pops initially dislikes Martha due to her being more fortunate than he is.
- Happy Dance: After Martha's Rousing Speech, Mandarin, Streak, and Butterscotch circle happily in their crate.
- Hurricane of Euphemisms: In her song, Martha calls the pound by many names, including pound, dog pound, animal shelter, pooch coop, and dog basket of steel.
- Mistaken for Insane: Because Martha is relentlessly chasing the garbage truck, the garbageman thinks she's "out of control".
- Mistaken for Prank Call: When Danny phones Kazuo asking about a talking dog, Kazuo asks him if it's some kind of joke.
- Nasal Trauma: Discussed when Martha complains about soap bubbles getting in her nose.
- Neat Freak: One girl's parents don't let her get a dog because they don't want hair on their chairs. However, she and her mother still end up adopting Estelle, since she's a poodle and thus doesn't shed.
- No Animals Allowed: The reason Estelle lives at the pound is because her owners moved to an apartment where no pets were allowed.
- Pesky Pigeons: Discussed when Martha is negotiating with the pigeon and says, "'What's in it for you'? No wonder they call you guys flying rats."
- Pounds Are Animal Prisons: Subverted. The pound dogs are seen as unfortunate and want to break out, and Martha asks Pops what he's "in for". However, after the pound break, Kazuo is portrayed sympathetically, and it's revealed that he's trying his best to rehome the dogs and provide for them.
- Pun: Martha introduces the show as "It's time for this show to go to the dogs."
- Race-Name Basis: Martha addresses the pigeon as "bird".
- Rich Bitch: Miranda's ex-owner abandons her dog at the pound just for not matching drapes, and she's implied to be rich because she owns a large mansion.
- Rousing Speech: The dogs are feeling discouraged and don't feel Martha's plan will work, but they change their mind when she gives them a speech:Martha: "Look, I can't guarantee anything, but with your help, I feel I can make this a success. I can't promise it's going to be easy; it's gonna be work, work, work, work, and more work, day and night, but if we pull this off, you're going out there dogs, but you'll be comin' back... well, you'll still... still be dogs. But you'll have families!"
- Shaped Like Itself: When Martha runs after the garbage truck after her collar is accidentally thrown away, Mariella says, "Chasing after the garbage truck?! That dog is acting like... a dog."
- Shout-Out:
- The title is a reference to the song "Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog".
- In her Hurricane of Euphemisms for "pound", Martha mentions, "the animal shelter that is", which is a reference to The Beverly Hillbillies, whose theme song has many lyrics along the lines of "[slang term], [explanation], that is."
- Silent Treatment: When Estelle and Miranda are blaming Martha for not being free, they refuse to reply when she bids them good morning.
- Speak in Unison: When Helen and Martha get the same idea at once, they both say, "Hey — a talent show!".
- Split-Screen Phone Call: When Danny and Kazuo are talking on the phone, they're shown on a split screen.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Unlike most TV shows and movies where the dogs try and escape the pound, the dogs are immediately brought back by Kazuo and told that if they escape they would have no place to go if they did since he's just trying to find them homes.
- Pops doesn't get adopted at the end of the episode unlike the other pound dogs. This is Truth in Television for most "bully" type breeds as they are known and stereotyped for their aggression and people are afraid of them. Luckily Kazuo decides to adopt him.
- Tempting Fate: Martha says she can't wait to see the looks on the others' faces when she tells them her plan. They scoff.
- Toilet Humour: Martha says that a sign Miranda was civilised was that she "did her business" outside.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: We never see who adopted Miranda; we just see the audience fawning over her. She must have been adopted, though, since Pops was the only one left without an owner at the end.
- Whole Episode Flashback: Most of the episode takes place a week in the past.
