Hank makes a foolish bet with his archenemy, Pete the Barncat, that he can catch the Lumberpile Bunny. He loses the wager, his job, his pride, and even his gunny sack bed under the gas tanks. Hank begins to plot revenge. He must dispose of the cat. That sounds simple, but, without Pete, Hank discovers scrap time has lost all its joy and meaning.

Hank the Cowdog has seen dry summers in his years as the Head of Ranch Security, but nobody on the ranch has seen a drought like this. Ponds have dried up, the creek is down to a trickle, pastures have turned to burned toast, and the cows are kicking up clouds of dust. Then, to top it all off, Pete the Barncat hatches a dastardly plot to ruin Loper's birthday! The last thing the cowboys need is a prairie fire, but that's what they get, and it begins...

Everyone knows that a cowboy will rope anything that moves: cows, dogs, cats, bales of hay, unsuspecting fellow-cowboys... So, when some local goats escape their pen and turn up near Wolf Creek, Deputy Kile knows just who to ask to help him round them up: Slim Chance. Hank and Slim spring into action and go in search of the lost goats, but they could never have foreseen the dangers and surprises they'd face in the course of this rodeo rescue mission....