Charlie B. Barkin (Burt Reynolds), a rascally German Shepherd with a shady past, breaks out of a New Orleans dog pound with the help of his faithful friend Itchy (Dom De Luise), a nervously hyperactive dachshund. He then makes tracks to reunite with his gambling casino partner Carface Malone (Vic Tayback), a shifty pitbull who has planned a dastardly, and potentially deadly, double cross. Suddenly, Charlie finds himself at the Pearly Gates, face to face with the Heavenly Whippet (Melba Moore). Charlie weasels his way back to earth and reunites with Itchy. He plots his revenge against Carface and, along the way, acquires help from a little girl named Anne-Marie (who can talk to animals). After a series of fiendish schemes, close scrapes and unexpected adventures, both Charlie and Anne Marie find their lives at stake. Only one can be saved and the outcome is in Charlie's paws...