51 pages • 1-hour read
The Great Pet Heist
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 16-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 16 Summary
Butterbean protests returning the gold coins, but Oscar insists that they must perform an anti-heist. Walt has recruited Chad to help. Marco persuades Butterbean to participate by reframing the mission as a rescue operation for Polo and Madison. Walt outlines their three-part plan: “Operation Distract,” “Operation Divide and Conquer,” and “Operation Outside Authorities” (198). Oscar attempts to fly the coin bag to the ninth floor but cannot gain enough altitude with the weight, so Butterbean volunteers to carry it via elevator instead, while Oscar stays behind to monitor surveillance cameras.
In the elevator, Butterbean and Walt encounter Mrs. Power Walker. On the sixth floor, Bob, the building maintenance worker, sees them with the bag and decides to wait for the next elevator, eyeing the pets suspiciously. After Mrs. Power Walker exits, Butterbean presses the button for the ninth floor.
From the vents, Marco and Wallace observe Number Two Man sitting nervously in the apartment while Chad waits in the kitchen sink. When Butterbean rings the doorbell, the man opens the door to find Walt and Butterbean sitting silently. Startled, he slams the door. After a second unanswered ring, Marco relays that Chad has a plan to take the man out. Walt becomes concerned, realizing that she does not know Chad well enough to predict what he might do.
Chapter 17 Summary
Chad travels through the building’s plumbing to the bathroom, which startles Madison. He searches the medicine cabinet, finds sleeping pills, and breaks one in half, explaining to Polo that it will knock the man out temporarily. Before leaving, Chad tells Polo that he is glad she survived.
Chad returns to the kitchen sink and signals Marco to whistle. Butterbean rings the doorbell repeatedly until Number Two Man opens it again, confronted by the same silent-stare tactic from Walt and Butterbean. While he stands distracted at the door, Chad drops the half pill into his drink on the coffee table. When Marco whistles again, Walt and Butterbean turn and walk away without a word. The man slams the door, returns to the couch, and gulps down the drugged drink. Within minutes, he falls unconscious.
Chad opens the apartment door for Walt and Butterbean, who drag in the coin bag. Chad stuffs coins into the sleeping man’s pockets, while Walt discovers guns and a ski mask in the end table. Just then, Oscar flies in through the window, warning them that the Coin Man is on his way.
Chapter 18 Summary
Walt orders Oscar to begin Operation Outside Authorities, so Oscar flies out while Chad escapes down the drain. Walt then initiates a new distraction she calls “Operation Mini Distract” (217), having Butterbean lick the sleeping man’s nostrils to rouse him. After three licks, the man staggers to his feet, scattering coins just as the Coin Man enters. Walt and Butterbean hide behind the door as the Coin Man confronts Number Two Man about the coins. While the men are distracted, Walt and Butterbean slip into the hallway and escape.
Back in Mrs. Food’s apartment, Oscar’s tries to call the police, but the operator cannot understand his voice and hangs up, assuming it is a prank. Walt suggests using the computer’s text-to-speech software instead. She types a message while Oscar dials 911. The computerized female voice reports a kidnapping and coin theft at apartment 9B. Walt has Oscar disconnect before the operator can request a name.
In the vents above the Coin Man’s apartment, Marco keeps watch despite his fear, while Wallace retreats deeper into the ventilation system. The door bursts open, and police officers storm in, arresting both men. They rescue Madison from the bathroom with Polo in her pocket. Polo gives Marco and Wallace a thumbs-up and then triumphantly displays a new button she acquired.
Chapter 19 Summary
Marco confirms that the rescue succeeded. The animals discuss their futures now that they are poor again. Walt announces that she will run away rather than go to a shelter, Marco suggests that they live in the vents, and Oscar mentions moving to the park. Butterbean desperately wants everyone to stay together.
Mrs. Food arrives in a wheelchair pushed by Bob. After Bob leaves, she delivers bad news to the pets: She must move to a care facility and cannot take them with her. Madison bursts in with Polo. She refers to Mrs. Food as Mrs. Fudeker and explains that she is being taken to foster care. She thanks the animals for rescuing her. Mrs. Taylor, a social worker, comes to take Madison away. Prompted by pleading looks from the animals, Mrs. Food impulsively claims that Madison is living with her. She and Madison quickly invent a story claiming that the arrangement was made with Madison’s deployed aunt, Ruby Park. Mrs. Taylor reluctantly accepts but promises to verify the story.
Mrs. Food officially invites Madison to live with her, solving both their problems of living alone. Sheila, Mrs. Food’s nurse, arrives and is told the same story. She accepts it, attributing the confusion to clerical errors. Madison rushes to email her aunt for approval and discovers a message about a reward for a crime tip.
Chapter 20 Summary
Mrs. Food packs Madison’s lunch and plans to accept the mysterious reward money despite her confusion about its origin. Madison’s aunt has approved the guardianship arrangement, and Butterbean now cleans up her own vomit to keep Mrs. Food safe from falls.
Butterbean complains that Mrs. Food is receiving the reward instead of them. Chad raids the kitchen cabinets for sardines, a regular occurrence that Mrs. Food has not yet noticed. Wallace emerges with his cheeks full of sunflower seeds. Oscar proposes officially inducting Wallace into their group. The animals vote unanimously to rename themselves the “Strathmore Seven.”
Wallace announces that their heist is on the news. The television report states that most of the coins were recovered. Walt confronts Oscar, who admits that he kept a small bag of coins for future emergencies. He drags Mrs. Food’s embroidered bag from beneath the sofa, and gold coins spill onto the floor. Delighted, Butterbean, Marco, Polo, and Wallace jump into the pile to play. Walt and Oscar join the celebration, followed by Chad, who considers himself an expert coin flinger.
Chapters 16-20 Analysis
The concluding chapters resolve the narrative’s central conflicts through the definitive establishment of The Importance of Found Family Amid Hardship. The primary antagonists are not merely the criminals but the impersonal social systems that threaten to separate the protagonists: the animal shelter, the foster-care system, and the assisted-living facility. Each character faces a future determined by outside influences. The narrative counters this threat with a collective act of deception. When confronted by Mrs. Taylor, the social worker, Mrs. Food makes an impulsive claim: “She lives here, with me” (235). This lie, born of desperation and empathy, functions as the founding charter for their new family unit. It is a performative act that redefines the characters’ relationships, transforming them from a loose collection of dependents into an interdependent household. The story that Mrs. Food and Madison invent for the social worker and nurse is a fiction that, through their shared commitment, becomes a functional reality. The final chapter cements this transformation as the animals formally induct Wallace and name themselves the “Strathmore Seven,” signifying a conscious choice to define their family on their own terms, bound by loyalty and shared experience rather than by biology.
The group achieves this communal victory through Agency and Ingenuity in the Face of Powerlessness. As animals, a minor, and an elderly woman, the characters cannot rely on traditional forms of power. Instead, they leverage their unique, often underestimated, abilities. The “anti-heist” exemplifies this action, as the team uses the building’s infrastructure—its plumbing and ventilation systems—for their operation, turning the space that confines them into a strategic asset. Walt’s use of text-to-speech software to report the kidnapping further illustrates this theme. When the 911 operator fails to understand Oscar’s avian voice, his primary mode of communication is rendered useless. Walt circumvents this barrier by translating their urgent message into a form that the system can recognize, using technology to bridge the gap between animal and human communication. This act demonstrates that agency is not an inherent quality but a situational practice, achieved by creatively repurposing available tools to overcome obstacles.
The heist genre is subverted in these final sections to explore the characters’ shifting motivations. Initially, the heist is a means to achieve financial independence, a plan derived from Oscar’s understanding of human conflict as seen on television. The “anti-heist,” however, redefines the objective; the goal is no longer wealth but the rescue of Madison and Polo. This shift from a materialistic to a relational goal marks the group’s evolution from individual survivors into a family. Oscar’s bewilderment at this turn, noting that he had “never once seen an organized crime gang have to pull an anti-heist and return the money” (197), highlights the inadequacy of his media-derived worldview. The heist genre, with its focus on obtaining items of worth, provides no script for an act of justice. The characters must improvise an operation that prioritizes their safety, thereby moving beyond the simplistic narratives of television and into the moral complexities of their own lives.
The conclusion of the heist arc introduces a moral ambiguity that complicates a simple, happy ending, particularly through Oscar’s character development. Throughout the story, Oscar positions himself as the mastermind, yet his authority is repeatedly challenged as his plans go astray, ending in his inability to summon the police. Finally, he passes the leadership role to the more pragmatic Walt. His final, unilateral decision to secretly withhold a portion of the stolen coins demonstrates a shift in his thinking, as this hidden cache is not for personal wealth but for future emergencies—a private insurance policy for his non-traditional family in a world that offers them no official protection. Walt’s reaction, a resigned declaration that “[they]’re officially criminals” (245), signifies their collective acceptance of this morally gray identity. They are not heroes in a conventional sense but survivors who have learned that navigating a precarious world sometimes requires bending the rules.
Unlock all 51 pages of this Study Guide
Get in-depth, chapter-by-chapter summaries and analysis from our literary experts.
- Grasp challenging concepts with clear, comprehensive explanations
- Revisit key plot points and ideas without rereading the book
- Share impressive insights in classes and book clubs