The Pound Puppies is a group of dogs who spend most of their time at Shelter 17. Together with a group of squirrels recruited by Strudel, an incredibly smart Dachshund, they operate a secret and highly sophisticated underground facility beneath the pound, aimed at finding new owners for puppies or even grown up dogs that come to their pound. They rely on their motto, “A pup for every person, and a person for every pup”. Although the facility is filled with advanced equipment (mainly built by Strudel and the squirrels) and is often shown bustling with activity, it consistently manages to avoid detection by the pound’s clueless human staff. Several episodes have shown that there are multiple Pound Puppies units worldwide. There is also a similar organization, the “Kennel Kittens”, which is a group of cats at the Happy Valley shelter that try to find forever homes for the kittens and cats that come their way. The Kennel Kittens have appeared in several episodes, and often mess up the Pound Puppies’ missions. The Pound Puppies also have an unofficial side branch, the “Super Secret Pup Club”.[5]
A recurring plot often involves the Pound Puppies helping dogs find loving homes and coming across various challenges as they do so. Once a dog is successfully matched with a new owner, the Pound Puppies give him/her a dog tag shaped like a dog house as a parting gift, along with the quote, “Once a pound puppy, always a pound puppy.”