Curtis Edwards, a young boy from Gary, Indiana scraps most of anything that interests him in favor of salvaging the life of a stray dog that he finds at a local junk yard. Curtis' interest is piqued one evening as he stumbles across a televised dog show in progress. He decides to learn how to show dogs like the professionals and uses his junk yard pal, "Hubcap," as his learning mate. Curtis becomes a "child prodigy" dog handler and later in life, while working as an administrator for a large animal hospital in Chicago, goes on to become a famous dog handler, and ultimately becomes a top level show judge. Curtis develops a love interest with a flight attendant, Cyndi, who has visited his animal hospital with her ailing dog. The love affair eventually comes apart as a result of Curtis' vast schedule of work and show handling commitments. In New York a young girl, Stephanie, convinces her mother and father to buy a Golden Retriever as a pet. Through a series of coincidences, her dog, "Dusty," becomes a handsome show dog. Unbeknownst to Stephanie, her father is a small time racketeer who only has a peripheral interest in Stephanie's love for her dog. The story reaches a climax at the "big dog show" at Madison Square Garden in New York City where Curtis and "Dusty" meet as a result of a series of unusual events.