SpongeBob gets a paddle ball from the mail and plays with it. He plays with the paddle ball so much that he forgets to feed his pet Gary. Gary decides to run away from home. SpongeBob wakes up from the paddle ball when Patrick comes into his house. SpongeBob can not find Gary is his home and later finds a note from Gary that says he is finding a new owner. Later, Gary enters a new city and gets found by a gang of snails. A nice old lady finds Gary and takes him to her house, thinking that he is her pet Miss Tuftsy. At the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob is sad at work because Gary is missing. Mr. Krabs tells him that problems can be solved with hard work. SpongeBob thinks he is talking about Gary, so SpongeBob and Patrick put posters around the town in hopes of finding Gary.