San Diego Police Detective Michael Dooley leaves his police car during a
stakeout to contact his girlfriend, Tracy, when a helicopter attacks and destroys the car. At the police station, Dooley confides to his lieutenant, Byers, that the attack was likely ordered by Ken Lyman, the
drug lord Dooley has been after for two years, but Dooley still insists on working alone, in spite of Byers’ attempts to get him a partner. Following a tip regarding an informant, Freddie, he spends the night in his personal car. The next morning, Dooley coerces Freddie into revealing that Lyman did order the attack and giving a tip about a
warehouse where Lyman's drugs are, but its large size makes them impossible to find. After helping out in a tricky drug bust, Dooley asks his colleague Brannigan to loan him a K-9 to track down the drugs. Brannigan gets Dooley an experienced yet quirky
German Shepherd named
Jerry Lee. Dooley and Jerry Lee head to the warehouse where the search is unsuccessful - Jerry Lee initially ignores Dooley's orders, and only a
marijuana joint is eventually found. However, at a pub where Dooley stakes out an
intermediary, Benny the Mule, Jerry Lee saves Dooley when his cover is blown. With the dog's help, Dooley subdues Benny and learns the location of Lyman's next shipment. Meanwhile, Lyman kills Freddie and demands that his henchman Dillon kill Dooley before the shipment arrives. At Dooley's apartment, Jerry Lee steals the spotlight after Tracy accepts Dooley's story that he rescued the dog from the streets. The next day, Dooley and Jerry Lee bond when they eat together and spy on Lyman. The two are nearly killed when someone shoots at them, and they chase the assailant to an empty building. Jerry Lee leads Dooley to the man, who falls to his death. In the man's car, Dooley finds a clue that leads him to an
auto-dealer shop. There, Jerry Lee identifies a red Mercedes with drugs in it, and Dooley learns that Halstead, the owner of the dealership, works for Lyman. Later, Jerry Lee falls in love with a poodle, to the disapproval of its owner. When Dooley returns home, he discovers that Lyman has kidnapped Tracy. Infuriated, he crashes a party at Lyman's mansion, prompting him to be arrested by his own department, but Dooley informs Byers that this was intentional to fool Lyman into rushing the shipment. Byers, however, takes Dooley in. Using Jerry Lee's flatulence to an advantage, Dooley escapes with the dog. As Dooley tells Jerry Lee how he met Tracy, he spots a truck driven by Halstead that is pulling a trailer with the red Mercedes. Dooley and Jerry Lee chase the truck and arrest Halstead. Dooley takes the truck to the desert where Lyman, with Tracy hostage in his limo, is waiting. Using his
videogame as a fake detonator, Dooley goads Lyman to surrender Tracy or risk the truck exploding and earning the ire of the main buyer, Gilliam. The game blows Dooley's cover, however, and a shootout ensues where Dooley kills Dillon as Jerry Lee chases Lyman. Unable to outrun the dog, Lyman shoots Jerry Lee. Enraged, Dooley shoots at Lyman but Lyman is instead shot and killed by Gilliam's henchmen. Dooley and Tracy rush Jerry Lee to a hospital, where the reluctant surgeon operates. In the recovery room, Dooley delivers a
eulogy to Jerry Lee, then discovers that he is alive. Taking a break from police work, Dooley, Tracy, Jerry Lee, and a poodle spend a vacation together in Las Vegas. ==Cast==