Helen, the dogs, and Truman are watching a weird ad for possums on sticks to lift like weights. It's then revealed that Weaselgraft and Pablum came up with it, but unsurprisingly it's not selling well. They go to fish for money in the drains near the cafe, where Truman tells Martha that the book he's just finished reading is a true story about a sled dog in Alaska named Balto who helped cure a disease.
Martha decides she wants to pull a sled too and initially wants to go to Alaska, but changes her mind upon hearing there are mosquitoes. Weaselgraft tries to incorporate this into an evil plan to catch Martha, but has no ideas. Pablum thinks of catching her in a net attached to a fake finish line, giving her a medal that shoots knockout gas, or use a vehicle he invented, which can work as a sled, wagon, go-kart, raft, or helicopter. Weaselgraft chooses the crazy vehicle.
Back at the Lorraine house, Martha is imagining being a sled dog. The Lorraines go to the park, but Martha wants to stay home and daydream. Soon after they leave, Weaselgraft and Pablum show up at the door, wearing winter clothes and claiming to need a serum delivery. She falls for it, and they lace her up to Pablum's vehicle, with Skits following. When Pablum turns the engine on, Martha is sent flying into their laps, and their scarfs fall off revealing their faces. She throws the vehicle's remote to Skits, who sends the villains away from the truck they tried to drive Martha into. They go on a wild ride, until the villains are sent away on the lake, while Martha gets out and swims to safety.
This episode provides examples of
- Afraid of Doctors: The Lorraine dogs flinch at the idea of getting a shot.
- Answer Cut: Martha asks whose "lame-brained idea" the possums on a stick was, and then we cut to the answer: Weaselgraft and Pablum.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Otis Weaselgraft admits to trying to think of an "evil plan".
- Comically Missing the Point: When Truman says that the sled wasn't the kind of sled you play with, but a dog sled, Martha imagines herself on a normal sled, but with her dog friends with her instead of Helen.
- Continuity Nod: When Martha says that her "dream" is to be a sled dog, Helen and Truman point out that she previously said that about being a firehouse dog (in "Fire Dog Martha") and an agility dog (in "Martha Fails the Course") respectively.
- Evil Laugh: Weaselgraft chuckles in an evil way when trying to think of a way to exploit Martha's desire to pull a sleigh.
- Eye Scream: Otis Weaselgraft gets a black eye from passing out onto his desk.
- Fantasy Sequence:
- When Truman is explaining his book, Martha imagines herself and her friends in the roles of the story.
- Later, she imagines pulling a sled and singing inspirational songs.
- Find the Cure!: In Truman's story, many Alaskans are sick with a vaguely-defined illnessnote that needs to be promptly cured. They had the serum needed to cure it, but the delivery plane was frozen, so the sled dogs had to deliver it.
- Happy Dance: Weaselgraft dances excitedly upon seeing Pablum's vehicle.
- Heroic Dog:
- In Truman's story, a dog delivers life-saving medicine on a sled.
- Skits saves Martha by using the remote to control the bad guys' vehicle.
- Is It Something You Eat?: When Truman says that the Alaskans needed a "serum" to cure their disease, Martha asks what it is and wonders if it's similar to syrup, since the words sound similar.
- Lame Rhyme Dodge: When Martha can't pull the "sled", Weaselgraft says to Pablum, "Transform it into a wagon!". Martha asks what he said, and Weaselgraft says, "I said... 'Who put this bag on?" and throws out a bag.
- Nasal Trauma: Weaselgraft ends up injuring his nose from passing out at his desk due to Pablum's sleeping gas.
- Rhyme Theme Naming: When Martha imagines herself and Helen as Alaskans, she names them Malto and Halto, to rhyme with Balto. Then, later, she calls Skits "Skalto", calling it his "Alaskan name".
- Speak in Unison: When the vehicle is about to land in the lake, Weaselgraft and Pablum say, "We can't swim!" at once.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Weaselgraft and Pablum pretend they need medicine as part of their plan to steal Martha.
