Tugger is a little jeep. During World War II, his engine fan was replaced with a real airplane propeller. Since then, he's known that one day, he too will fly in the skies. While spending his time doing boring work towing airplanes around, he never let go of that dream, and who knows, it may just come true some day...
When a casino-owning dog named Charlie is murdered by his rival Carface, he finds himself in Heaven basically by default since all dogs go to heaven. However, since he wants to get back at his killer, he cons his way back to the living with the warning that doing that damns him to Hell. Once back, he teams with his old partner, Itchy, to prep his retaliation. He also stumbles onto an orphan girl who can talk to the animals, thus allowing him to get the inside info on the races to ensure his wins to finance his plans. However, all the while, he is still haunted by nightmares of what's waiting for him on the other side unless he can prove that he is worthy of Heaven again.