You Lucky Dog

Lisa Rayborn returns to her hometown of Rockton for her mother's funeral, feeling the weight of her long absence in New York City. She finds her brother, Jim, secretly trying to transition the family's failing cattle ranch into a sheep farm, a move their traditionalist father, Clay, refuses to accept. Lisa decides to stay and help, adopting a border collie named Lucky from the local shelter. Lucky had been discarded by a top breeder, Neil Ingram, for lacking the proper herding temperament. Lisa meets Don Lally, the town's veterinarian, who becomes her romantic interest and encourages her to train Lucky for the upcoming sheep-herding trials, which offer a $10,000 prize. As Lisa and Jim train Lucky in secret, a major conflict arises with Clay, who demands the dog be removed from the house. It is eventually revealed that Clay's hostility stems from a 20-year-old incident where their mother's previous herding dog nipped a toddler-aged Lisa, leading Clay to force his wife to give up her dreams of training dogs. Meanwhile, Lisa struggles with her own secret: her fashion career in New York has actually failed, and she is using the farm's wool to create new designs in a desperate attempt to start over. The story reaches a climax when a massive windstorm and forest fire break out while Don is leading a group of children on a nature hike. Lucky uses her herding instincts to find the lost children and lead them to safety, even rescuing a young girl named Kristina who was separated from the group. Lucky suffers a leg burn during the rescue, seemingly ending her chances at the competition. However, inspired by the dog's heroism, Clay rallies the town to repair the storm-damaged arena. In the final act, Lucky competes despite her injury. While she loses the first-place trophy to Neil Ingram's dog, Spark, her bravery catches the eye of the president of Pedigree Dog Food. He offers Lisa $25,000 to make Lucky the company's new mascot. The film concludes with Lisa receiving a massive order for her sweater designs from a New York boutique, Jim reconciling with his ex-wife Bonnie, and Clay finally welcoming Lucky into the family home, acknowledging that he was wrong to suppress his wife's—and now his daughter's—dreams.