The Great Pet Heist

Published in 2020, The Great Pet Heist is a middle grade adventure novel by Emily Ecton. The novel follows a group of house pets—Butterbean the dachshund, Walt the cat, Oscar the mynah bird, and two rats named Marco and Polo—who are left to fend for themselves after their elderly owner is hospitalized. Facing the threat of being sent to the pound, the animals band together and use their unique skills to plan a heist, targeting a mysterious and wealthy man who lives in their building. As the first installment in the ongoing Great Pet Heist series, the book draws on the literary tradition of imagining the complex lives of household animals while adapting the conventions of the heist genre for a young audience. In doing so, the novel explores The Importance of Found Family Amid Hardship, Agency and Ingenuity in the Face of Powerlessness, and Deception and the Unreliability of Appearances. 

This guide refers to the 2021 Atheneum Books for Young Readers paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of animal cruelty.

Plot Summary

Butterbean, a dachshund, lives with Walt the cat and Oscar the mynah bird, along with their owner, an elderly woman whom the pets call “Mrs. Food.” On the morning of October 20, Mrs. Food slips on a patch of vomit that Butterbean left on the kitchen tile and is knocked unconscious. The pets try to wake her, but their efforts fail. Walt presses a button on a “secret device” that Mrs. Food wears around her neck, which summons paramedics. Aided by Bob, the building’s maintenance guy, the paramedics take Mrs. Food away on a stretcher.

Left alone, Oscar declares that, based on television shows, Mrs. Food will never return and they are doomed without her. Bob soon returns with a young girl named Madison, who will be their temporary caretaker. He tells Madison that the pets’ owner has no family and will likely go to a nursing home, meaning that the animals will be sent to a pet shelter in about a week. Bob also reveals that two rats, Marco and Polo, have been living in an aquarium in Mrs. Food’s office. After Madison takes Butterbean for a walk, Oscar calls an urgent house meeting.

During the meeting, Walt reveals that she has read Mrs. Food’s private papers and confirms that the animals are not in her will. Oscar proposes that they either get jobs or become independently wealthy. The pets gather their meager treasures. When Madison returns for a forgotten bag, a sparkly button falls from her sweater, which Polo claims. Butterbean then reveals her most valuable possession: a gold coin she found in the lobby, dropped by a man who smelled strongly of cologne. Oscar deduces that the man must have more coins and announces that their new plan is to pull off a heist.

The next day, the reconnaissance mission begins. Polo hides under Butterbean’s fur during her walk with Madison to identify the “Coin Man.” This plan fails when Polo has to leave her hiding spot under Butterbean’s fur in the lobby so that Butterbean can relieve herself. Meanwhile, Walt and Oscar tape the apartment door’s latch so that it will not lock behind them. Butterbean and Polo initiate “Plan B,” riding the elevator alone and stopping at every floor for Butterbean to sniff under each apartment door. They identify the Coin Man’s scent coming from one of two top-floor apartments. Just as Madison, who has run up the stairs, finds them, the Coin Man opens his door and stares at them menacingly. For the next phase, Marco and Polo infiltrate the man’s apartment through the air vents.

Marco and Polo get lost in the vents, are briefly spotted by Bob in his apartment, and meet Wallace, a former pet rat who now lives in the building’s ventilation system. Wallace is terrified of the Coin Man but shows them the way to his apartment. Looking through a grate, the rats see Madison in a different apartment and realize that she is living alone. Back in their own apartment, the other pets create distractions to prevent Madison from noticing that the rats are missing. Marco and Polo finally reach the target vent and see a second man in the apartment with a large duffel bag full of gold coins.

The rats report their findings. Walt shocks the others by revealing that she “has a guy” who can help (124): an octopus named Chad who is living secretly in a tank on the eighth floor. Walt and Butterbean visit Chad, who agrees to help in exchange for sardines. On their way back, they overhear Bob telling Madison that Mrs. Food is awake but will not be returning home and that the pets will go to the shelter in a day or two. Walt declares that “[h]eist day is NOW” (137).

The next morning, Madison forges her absent aunt’s signature on payment forms. She and Butterbean have another intimidating encounter with the Coin Man in the elevator, where he comments on her sparkly buttons. In the lobby, Bob points Madison out to the Coin Man as the niece of the woman on the eighth floor. When the Coin Man leaves the building, the heist begins. The group gets into position. Chad enters the apartment through the plumbing and opens a window for Oscar. Walt and Butterbean create a commotion in the hallway, luring the second man out. Inside, Oscar and Chad retrieve the duffel bag of coins, and Oscar flies the heavy bag out the window. As the rats escape through the vent, the string on Polo’s necklace, which was holding her sparkly button, breaks; the button falls into the Coin Man’s living room.

The team celebrates their success, but Polo reveals that she lost her button. Butterbean confirms that the Coin Man will recognize it as Madison’s. When Madison fails to return from school, the pets fear that she has been implicated. Marco and Polo go to investigate, and Wallace soon arrives to report a commotion on the top floor. Marco returns upset, screaming that the Coin Man found the button, kidnapped Madison, and killed Polo.

Marco clarifies that he saw the Coin Man kick Polo but did not see her die. The team plans a rescue. In the Coin Man’s apartment, Polo wakes up unharmed in Madison’s pocket, where they are locked in the bathroom. Madison confesses that she has been living alone since her aunt was deployed. The rescue team arrives in the vents and sees the Coin Man threatening Madison, giving her one hour to return the coins. Walt announces a new plan: an “anti-heist” to return the money.

Oscar is unable to fly up with the heavy bag, so Butterbean and Walt take it in the elevator. Chad enters the apartment via the plumbing and drugs the second man’s drink with a sleeping pill. The team enters, returns the coins, and discovers guns and ski masks, realizing that the men are dangerous criminals. Oscar flies in to warn them that the Coin Man is returning. Walt sends Oscar to call the police while she and Butterbean wake the drugged man. The Coin Man confronts him, allowing the pets to escape. Oscar’s attempts to call 911 fail when the operator assumes that his voice is part of a prank call, but Walt uses text-to-speech software on Mrs. Food’s computer to successfully report the kidnapping. The police raid the apartment, arrest both men, and rescue Madison and Polo.

The pets return to their apartment to find that Mrs. Food has been brought home by Bob. She explains that she cannot live alone and must give them up. Madison bursts in to return Polo, followed by a social worker who is taking her to foster care. Mrs. Food impulsively claims that Madison lives with her as her caregiver. They convince the social worker and a nurse that the arrangement is official, allowing Mrs. Food and Madison to stay. Later, Madison’s aunt formalizes the guardianship, and a message announces a reward for the anonymous crime tip. Life settles into a new routine with Madison and Mrs. Food as co-caretakers of the pets. The news reports that most of the stolen coins were recovered, and Oscar reveals that he kept a small portion for emergencies.