Sailor is a very unusual Newfoundland dog -- he's afraid of the water! This brings a lot of scorn for Sailor, which also rubs off on his owner, six-year-old Ike, who tries a variety of methods to entice Sailor into the water. Everything fails until one Spring day Ike follows a group of other boys onto the ice. When Ike falls in, Sailor overcomes his fear and saves him. After this Sailor is no longer called a hangashore, but is the town hero.