Soon after the Lowry Family - Tom, his wife Karen, and their two children, Liz and Widdy - leave the big city and move to the small Northern California town of Placerville, they are 'adopted' by a very clever, yet lovable, stray golden retriever - Pilot. It's not long before they discover that Pilot is pregnant. The Lowry family, and especially Liz and Widdy, grow very close to the puppies during their weaning period. But Tom makes it clear that, like most families, they must give away the puppies after they've been weaned. It's particularly hard on Liz and Widdy, but they manage to give all the puppies away, and it's funny and fascinating to see who shows up at the Lowry residence to adopt a puppy. However, Pilot is determined to get her puppies back, and the Lowry Family must endure a comical series of events that make them realize that life is just not the same without the puppies. But retrieving six puppies from people you don't even know is no easy task. And soon, Tom Lowry finds he must choose between his job or his family. With Pilot in the lead, the Lowry's set off on a quest to retrieve Pilot's puppies - an adventure that ultimately leads them into the realization of what it really means to be a family.