Carolina is teaching Helen and Martha how to work at Jorge's store, then leaves them in charge while she buys decorations for a surprise party for Jorge's birthday. The next day, Helen is about to open the store, but Jorge comes to visit. He wants to make some hot chocolate and doesn't want to drink it alone on his birthday, so Helen gives Martha the store key and tells her to find Carolina and tell her that she (Helen) will be late opening the market. Both dogs leave, but they can't find her.
Skits suggests that they, along with Rinty, Burt, and Leon, run the market until Helen's available. Martha at first thinks the idea is crazy, but then agrees to it, and they head off. They can't use the key, but luckily they get the mailman (named Howie) to help. Then, the dogs start working.
Leon finds Carolina exiting the bakery to head to the party supplies shop. He tries getting her to follow him, but it doesn't work. Martha sends away for doggie biscuits for the store, then they get two delivery orders. The dogs try to do them, but Burt spills oil, which Rinty slips on and he crashes into a stack of cans. Martha tells Burt and Rinty to try again and clean up later, then T.D. phones and orders six baloney sandwiches. However, when Skits tastes the baloney to see if it's fresh, he accidentally eats the whole thing.
While Jorge drives off to go back to work, Burt brings a bag to T.D., but it turns out that the dogs filled the sandwiches with dog biscuits. He doesn't care, however. Skits delivers steak to Bob's owner, and Rinty delivers something to an apartment building (buzzing everyone, since he can't read the address).
Helen, on a bus, meets up with Carolina, who's confused by Leon still waiting outside the party shop. The girls realise that without each other at the store, Martha must be running it. They run back, while Martha tries to serve Truman, who's confused by what a mess the store is and the fact that dogs are running it. Meanwhile, the girls see Jorge in his car and decide to take a shortcut to the store. Martha accidentally puts hot sauce on Truman's PB&J sandwich.
While Jorge refuels his car, the girls enter the shop and are shocked at the mess, which the dogs had no time to clean up. Helen tells Martha to delay Jorge, while she, the other dogs, and Carolina clean up and decorate. Martha talks to Jorge about his inventory, while everyone else cleans up and decorates. Then, Martha and Jorge run into Helen's friends, then Danny and Mariella, then they enter to find everyone wishing Jorge a happy birthday.
This episode provides examples of
- Aesop Amnesia: This is another post-"There Goes the Neighbourhood" episode that still portrays Martha and Skits as hating cats.
- Ageless Birthday Episode: It's Jorge's birthday, but we don't know how old he is since he only has one candle.
- Alliterative Name: Martha's Market.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: The cat food logo is a pink cat.
- Animal Jingoism: Martha, Skits, and Burt don't like the cat food logo, which depicts a pink cat, then at the end, all the dogs chase a real cat.
- Ate It All: Skits accidentally eats the entire baloney sausage when trying to taste it.
- Blazing Inferno Hellfire Sauce: When Truman eats the hot sauce and peanut butter sandwich, not only does he sweat, he jumps around like crazy and even rolls on the floor and babbles grammatically-incorrect sentences.
- Comically Missing the Point:
- Burt and Martha don't understand why people would buy cat food as the cans have a picture of a cat. They don't get that someone who buys cat food would like cats.
- When Martha tells Jorge that they need to talk about his inventory, he says, "My inventory?". Martha thinks this means he doesn't know what one is.
- Dogs Love Fire Hydrants: Downplayed when Burt, Rinty, and Leon are seen next to a fire hydrant.
- Doomed Supermarket Display: Burt spills some oil, then Rinty slips on it and he crashes right into a stack of cans.
- Eating Pet Food: T.D. bites into a sandwich, only to find out that Martha and her friends have stuffed it with dog biscuits. He doesn't mind, though.
- Extreme Omnivore: T.D. doesn't mind the dog food sandwich.
- Food as Bribe: Martha convinces Burt, Rinty, and Leon to come with her by telling them that the market stocks dog food, sandwiches, and meat.
- Happy Dance: Jorge's guests dance joyfully when he blows out his birthday candle.
- I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham: Initially, Truman complains about his spicy sandwich, but after he gets used to it, he says, "That was amazing!".
- Innocently Insensitive: Carolina keeps reassuring her cousin and telling her not to be worried/overwhelmed, but Helen is unfazed, so she just finds these reassurances frustrating.
- It Tastes Like Feet: When T.D. eats his sandwich, he says, "It tastes like dog biscuits!" Perhaps justified, since he has been known to be an Extreme Omnivore before.
- Running Gag: The dogs keep bringing up the cat food display, which they don't like, and out of which a cat pops at the end.
- Snark Ball: Martha actually uses verbal irony when Skits eats all the baloney.
- Speak in Unison:
- When the girls realise that Martha is running the store, they say her name in unison.
- The party guests say, "Happy birthday, Jorge!" in unison.
- Stock Animal Diet: The dog biscuits are shaped like bones, Skits eats a sausage, and Bob eats a steak.
- Surprise Party: The premise of the episode is that Carolina has left Helen and Martha in charge of Jorge's store while she buys decorations for a surprise party, then Helen ends up delayed due to Jorge visiting, so Martha and her dog friends spend a bit of time running the store themselves.
