Fluke

A mutt puppy is taken to a city pound after dreaming of living as a human. He escapes and is rescued by an elderly homeless woman named Bella, who names him Fluke and claims he is a 'fluke by nature, Fluke by name.' Fluke helps Bella earn money by performing tricks for strangers, using a shell game to impress them.

When Bella dies from illness, Fluke meets a street-smart dog named Rumbo who takes him to see Bert, a man who feeds them. Fluke begins a rough life on the streets, learning from Rumbo and Bert. This marks the shift from Bella's care to the wider canine world.

Fluke matures into an adult dog and gradually remembers that he was once a man named Thomas P. Johnson who died in a car crash. The memories surface in flashes, linking his canine life to a forgotten human life. He starts to see new connections between his two existences.

Fluke is abducted by a man named Sylvester to be used in makeup experiments at a cosmetics company. During the captivity, Rumbo comes to the rescue but is shot by Sylvester and dies. Before dying, Rumbo reveals that Bert may be his brother and longs to smell the sea again.

With Rumbo gone, Fluke becomes part of a new family when Carol adopts him to be a companion for her son Brian. Carol is initially wary, but Brian bonds quickly with Fluke, and the dog begins to learn what it means to be part of a home again.

Fluke suspects that his human death was caused by his former business partner, Jeff Newman, who is now dating Carol. He viciously attacks Jeff when he visits, and Fluke is pushed outside the house despite Brian and Carol's protests. The confrontation strains the family's trust in Fluke.

One night, Brian goes missing while looking for Fluke, prompting Carol to seek help from Jeff. Jeff drives back to the house, and Fluke hides in the backseat, nearly causing him to crash in a moment echoing Fluke's own past. Jeff, injured but alive, urges Fluke to find Brian and then grieves the tragedy as Fluke runs off.

In a painful memory, Fluke realizes that his own reckless driving, not Jeff, caused his death. Jeff had tried to save him but failed, and now, injured, tells Fluke to go find Brian before he freezes. Overcome with regret, Fluke seeks their safe return instead of continuing a fight.

Fluke follows a hunch to the cemetery, where Brian has been locked in by an unaware groundskeeper. He sits with Brian, keeping him warm as the cold night deepens. The haunting setting underscores the bond between Fluke and his surrogate family.

Carol, guided by one of Brian's drawings, deduces that Brian may be at the cemetery and uses her car to break open the gates. She retrieves Brian, while Fluke stays with him, and the family begins to heal the rift caused by fear and doubt.

Fluke digs away the snow in front of his tombstone and uncovers the word forever at the bottom, a phrase he often spoke to Carol as a human. The revelation astonishes Carol and cements the truth of Fluke's past life. Instead of forsaking his canine family, Fluke chooses to depart with a heavy but clear heart.

Sometime later, Fluke rests under a tree on a farm and is unexpectedly reunited with Rumbo, who has been reincarnated as a squirrel. Rumbo shares stories of life as a squirrel and hints at reincarnation, offering Fluke a sense of closure and companionship beyond his canine existence.