Dr. Yulch tries to pitch his Special Diet Dog Food to Wade Gancy, CEO of Pets Fur Us, the largest pet store chain in the country. When Rex, Wade’s champion beagle, turns his nose up at the unsavory food, Dr Yulch and his assistant, Larry Smithers, hatch a scheme to get Rex out of the picture so they can pitch the New and Improved Special Diet.
Shyla’s intelligent and well bred mother, Belle, hides her mixed breed pups from Yulch and Smithers, who run an illegal pure breed puppy mill. When Dr. Yulch decides it’s time to change locations, Shyla is left behind. Shyla meets up with a couple of mischievous mice that lead her astray until a wise old barn owl, Webster, and, Emmy, a warm hearted toad, befriend her and help search for her mother.
The entire crew journey to the city to continue the search for Shyla’s mother.
When Rex is dog- napped at the annual dog show, too, Shyla and the others realize the cases are linked.
Shyla is adopted by the unsuspecting Sherman family.
Shyla is small and timid, and has trouble adjusting to family life. The family doesn’t realize that Shyla is still on a mission to reunite her own family.
Shane Sherman, a ten year old who loves to solve mysteries, and Shyla tag along on the investigation, but all of her attempts to prove the cases are connected are mistaken for poor behavior.
She needs Webster and Emmy’s help more than ever and finds a carrier pigeon that delivers messages via chirper (like twitter). He talks in computer vernacular and asks Shyla for a password, and to avoid TMI!
While checking out a lead, Todd (Shane’s dad and chief of police) stumbles on to the illegal breeders and the stolen animals. Shyla finds Todd, snatches his badge, races to the authorities with proof that she’s found Todd.
Todd and the other dogs are rescued. Shane dubs his pup Sherlock Shyla, PI PUP.