On the surface, the Fishers look like your typical, nuclear American family - Mel and Joyce are married with two children, eleven-year-old Henry and their teenaged daughter, Katie. Mel stays busy as an attorney while helping around the house by chopping down trees and teaching Katie how to parallel park. Except, he does it all with one kind-of-a-big-deal handicap: he's blind. Lucky for Mel, Henry loves to act as his dad's eyes and he manages to keep his dad from injuring himself or others during all these little adventures... well, minus the corner on the coffee table. That's just unavoidable.
But Henry's life changes when his parents make a big announcement - they're getting divorced and Mel's moving out... with his brand new guide dog, Elvis. Henry's crushed - is this dog his replacement?! - and makes it his mission to do the one thing a guide dog can't: find his dad a new apartment. On his way to a school field trip, Henry spots the perfect place and, despite concern from his best friend, Runyen, ditches to go check it out. The realtor's impressed with Henry's moxie (for a sixth grader, anyway) and holds the unit, but Henry's principal isn't as persuaded and after a discussion with Mel, Henry ends up grounded for ditching.
That doesn't stop Mel from moving into the apartment, though, and it really is the perfect space. That is, until Mel discovers Elvis is missing. The Fishers split up to find him, with Joyce and Katie prowling the streets in the car while Mel and Henry ride around on a bike (maybe not the best decision to let Mel steer). After hours of nonstop searching, they return to the apartment empty-handed, only for Henry to find Elvis locked in the pantry. Mel rejoices and Henry once again feels useful - multiplied exponentially when his dad gives him the ultimate gift: a key to his apartment. Maybe this guide dog isn't so bad after all...
