Ted Stein and Stewey McMann are the main antagonists in the The Dog Who Saved... franchise.

They are a couple of thieves who resort to stealing anything or kidnapping anyone in order to pay a debt to a loan shark named Tony Rowe, only to end up getting caught by a former K-9 police dog named Zeus, now a pet dog to the Bannister family, and then, arrested by the police every time.

In the sequels, The Dog Who Saved Easter and The Dog Who Saved Summer, it is revealed that Ted actually has a young felon brother named Fred, whom he dislikes given their history when he ratted them out on a bank job and had them sent to prison for two years, which the latter considers a "favor" he did for them.

They were portrayed by Dean Cain, who also played Marc Shelley in God's Not Dead, Curtis Knox in Smallville, Curtis Banks in Criminal Minds, and Mike Jergens in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Joey "Coco" Diaz respectively, who also played Roman Barbieri in Mafia III and Buddha Bonpensiero in The Many Saints of Newark.

Personality[]

While Ted appears to be smarter, craftier, bossy, sneaky, even-tempered, less cowardly, and tougher, Stewey turns out to be rather dim-witted, dumb, childish, cynophobic, cowardly, hysterical, anxious, and always hungry; his favorite being fresh, thin-sliced bologna from the butcher (not the supermarket kind).

Ted often disapproves of Stewey's eating habits especially during a robbery; often referring to it as "funny business." Whenever Stewey gets an anxiety, he gets gas and blows a couple of farts and somehow seems to calm down whenever Ted is around to help him; implying he "always knows how to make him feel better." Stewey also hates dogs, particularly Zeus more than Ted does due to his cynophobia.

Biography[]

The Dog Who Saved Christmas[]

Ted and Stewey, disguised as plumbers, have been robbing so many houses in the neighborhood, hoping to pay off their debts to their boss, Tony Rowe. Their latest house to rob is the home of the newly-arrived family, the Bannisters. Little do they know that they have brought home a former K-9 police dog named Zeus from the pound, now their pet, but with the inability to bark due to a bad history in the past on the job on the police force, for protection.

After two days of watching the house and seeing the Bannisters leave to visit the children's maternal grandmother (Annie) in town for Christmas, Ted and Stewey decide to make their move as Ted warns Stewey not to commit any "funny business" during the job; namely, eating.

However, while trying to pick the lock, Zeus manages to drive them off momentarily when playing a CD featuring dog barks, which scares Stewey to death since he has an animosity of dogs and severe case of cynophobia (fear of dogs). After a brief scuffle, they decide to come back in an hour; prepared with something for Zeus.

Later, they come back with Mace, a muzzle, and a tranquilizer gun they stole from the last place, which turned out to be a vet. As they try to pick the lock again, Zeus drops Christmas balls on them, which hurts them very badly. Ted blames Stewey and later assumes that the family must've left one of their "kids" behind to watch the place and the dog.

After Zeus throws flour on them, they get mad with vengeance and decide to go down through the basement instead. As they enter the house, Stewey inadvertently breaks his ankle a bit when kicking through the basement door and Zeus manages to drive Ted off momentarily with bowling balls.

While searching for the "kid", Stewey distracts Zeus and Ted manages to muzzle him from behind and tie him up. When Stewey tells Ted that there is no "kid" in the house, they finally realize that it was Zeus who sabotaged them in the first place. Then, they notice a plaque award with Zeus' name on it; making them realize that they are dealing with a certified K-9. When Stewey threatens to hurt Zeus with a golf club as payback for all the pain he caused them, Ted stops him and tells him to first get the job done and then, do whatever he wants.

As they start robbing the house, Stewey resorts into "funny business", eating a bologna sandwich; much to Ted's annoyance and anger. Later, they barely avoid the cops patrolling the neighborhood as Stewey constantly farts due to his anxiety and tries to finish his sandwich while Ted tries in vain to stop him.

After the cops leave (especially due to the fart smell), Ted and Stewey continue robbing the house even when Stewey resorts to playing with horse statues and pool. When Stewey notices the gifts left behind on the Christmas tree for the children, he wants to take them since he likes toys. Ted considers him childish and heartless when sympathizing with the kids' feelings when they find that Santa skipped their home, but later changes his mind when Stewey suggests they take half the gifts and sell them online and keep the other half.

When Ted hears a growl, he assumes it's Stewey's stomach, but after being reassured otherwise, they suddenly realize that it's Zeus, free from his bonds. Frightened, Stewey panics, runs scared, and lands on Ted; much to Ted's annoyance given Stewey's weight. After getting back on their feet and listening to Zeus miraculously bark for the first time, they decide to finish him off once and for all. However, Stewey manages to accidentally burn his own eyes when trying to spray Mace on Zeus and Ted manages to accidentally put Stewey to sleep with a dart from the tranquilizer gun. When trying to escape, Stewey falls asleep and Ted tries in vain to wake him up, only to have Zeus subdue them by dropping a chandelier on them.

After the cops receive a call from the neighbor lady (Mildred) with a white cat (Chegwee); reporting a struggle at the Bannisters' home, they rush in to arrest the thieves as Zeus continues to bark and the Bannisters with Grandma arrive just in time to witness the whole thing. Then, Ted and Stewey are taken to jail.

The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation[]

After being locked up for a year, Ted and Stewey decide to go to Colorado to steal a famous celebutante's valuable diamond necklace, worth $250,000. On the way, one of their car tires goes down and they have to put up a spare. In doing so, Stewey is the only one to have a feeling that the car driving past them is carrying passengers that seem familiar to them; namely, the Bannisters and their dog, Zeus. A theory which is later proven a fact, but which Ted doubts.

Later, Ted and Stewey check into a musty old motel, which barely satisfies Stewey's needs under false identities. Then, once inside their room, Ted states that after they pull this job, they will retire on the beach where they intend to open up an ice cream/butcher shop like they always talked about. 

A few days later, having finally arrived at the resort, Ted and Stewey proceed to steal the necklace when they notice their target, London James entering the spa for a massage, knowing this will be the perfect opportunity for them to strike since it is the only time when the latter can remove her necklace while her bodyguard, Hans remains outside.

Disguised and posing as masseurs, Ted and Stewey sneak into the room where London is as Ted proceeds to look for the necklace while Stewey distracts their target with his awkward massage methods and fake Swedish masseuse voice. Despite Stewey's constant anxiety attack resulting in excessive farting and London's dog, Missy barking, both Ted and Stewey barely manage to make it out with the necklace. To evade certain capture again, Ted and Stewey retreat at a gift shop where they stash the necklace within a pile of dog collars before the security guards come in and search them under suspicion. Without the necklace, they are free to go and decide to come back later to retrieve their loot. However, once they return, they are shocked to find out that the necklace has been purchased for $5 by none other than the Bannisters and their dog, Zeus for the latter's new girlfriend, Bella as a gift. Nevertheless, they choose to take it back.

Having followed Zeus and the Bannisters to their cabin, Ted and Stewey find that the necklace is now worn around Bella's neck. After Ted describes Stewey and himself as an "unstoppable force" that is about to meet an "immovable object" (Zeus), not only do they plan to try and steal the necklace back, but they also vow to get their revenge on Zeus for having made them spend last Christmas behind bars.

The next day, while Zeus and Bella are playing with Ben and Kara in the woods, Ted and Stewey spy on them as they figure out a way to lure the dogs away with meat and snatch back the necklace with ease. Later, having followed the Bannisters out into the wilderness where they intend to cut down and bring back a tree for Christmas, Ted and Stewey try to lure Zeus and Bella to them with a rib-eye steak they bought earlier at a butcher shop, only to end up luring a pack of hungry wolves behind them instead. Completely frightened and choiceless, Ted and Stewey throw the steak at the wolves and flee in panic and terror with their lives.

The next day, while the Bannisters and Zeus are having a snowball fight against Belinda's brother, Randy, her nephew, Zack, Bella, and another kid at a snow fort, Ted and Stewey spy on them. Stewey's childish complex kicks in when he wants to join in and play until Ted stops him and they begin to focus on the necklace. However, Stewey's cynophobia is suddenly reignited when he notices another dog; an avalanche dog named Trooper there, thus, making him realize he has to deal with three dogs now and making him more scared than he was before despite having gotten over his fear. Ted simply tells him to forget the dogs and plans to go down there, get the necklace, and get out of here before anyone sees them. Unfortunately, their plan is foiled again when London James' bodyguard recognizes, spots, and proceeds to chase them all the way. Luckily, they barely manage to escape their pursuer in one piece through a long slide despite the horror they've experienced and flee with their lives, preferring to get the necklace next time.

Later, in their cabin, Ted and Stewey are recovering from a slight cold they caught during the chase while watching a clip from an old TV show called Chappie the Dog as Ted declares "war". After recovery, they drive to the resort where they scope the place and form a plan on how to steal the necklace back by simply swiping the Bannisters' condo keys. Stewey appears uncomfortable with Ted's plan considering what happened last year when the latter had a plan, but Ted reassures him otherwise. After stealing a checking-in couple's luggage without difficulty, Ted and Stewey change into different outfits with Stewey all-dressed up like a woman; much to the latter's embarrassment and reluctance, in order to pose as a newly-wedded couple on their honeymoon, checking into the resort. After distracting the manager with finding a card, address, or phone number to the only available lodge left, Ted manages to swipe the keys to the Bannisters' condo while Stewey naively fools around with the bell.

Then, having arrived at the Bannisters' cabin, while sneaking in, Stewey delays Ted by opening a nearby Jacuzzi and naively asks him if he packed his bikini before Ted snaps him out of it and proceed with their objective. Peeking through the sliding glass door, they finally spot Bella with the necklace still around her neck and proceed to sneak inside and snatch the necklace off. Ted distracts Bella with treats while Stewey naively watches the family from above. However, the necklace won't budge and Stewey has been spotted by Zeus; much to the former's shock. So, they decide to kidnap Bella along with the necklace as well before Zeus can give chase.

Once back in their cabin, Stewey tries to take the necklace off of Bella in the van outside, but to no avail, so, they decide to finish it inside the cabin instead. Later, Ted and Stewey get out to get something to eat as they begin arguing due to Stewey's never-ending hunger habits since they haven't eaten since morning and the necklace still remains intact on Bella's neck. Ted tells Stewey that he will finish the job the hard way himself if the latter fails to do it the easy way next time.

When they come back with food, they begin coaxing and taunting Bella locked in a cage about food as Stewey speaks disgustingly with his mouth full; much to both Ted and Bella's obvious disgust. Then, when Zeus, having picked up their trail, tries to get them out of the room by turning on the T.V. about cops, Stewey panics, but Ted has come prepared this time with a Taser 500 before they get up and out to find out the source of the noise. Stewey slips down the stairs through another one of Zeus' traps, which allows Ted to deduce that Zeus is here and up to his old tricks with traps again. After Ted helps Stewey up, they try to catch Zeus from the outside, only for Ted to get sand thrown down on him and then, both get snow blown on them by Zeus, but Zeus' plan for a distraction isn't enough when Ted and Stewey return and trap both Zeus and a temporarily freed Bella from escaping as Ted maliciously uses the taser against Zeus before muzzling him.

Later, after having tasered and muzzled Zeus, Ted and Stewey carry Zeus and Bella out until they are surprised by Trooper having come to the dogs' rescue as he barks at them, which allows both Zeus and Bella to escape, leaving Ted and Stewey lying on the ground and the latter getting tasered in the process.

After recovering, Ted and Stewey begin pursuing the dogs in their van. Having spotted them and determined to get the necklace, Ted and Stewey continue pursuing them on foot the rest of the way. Though unable to catch up with them for now since they have managed to hitch a horse-sleigh ride with London and Missy, they decide to cut them off somewhere back at the village through a shortcut Ted knows of.

Having caught up with them at the village, Ted and Stewey continue chasing Zeus and Bella, unaware that security is hot on their trail as well, until Zeus finally manages to knock down a mountain pile of Christmas gifts and presents on Ted and Stewey before security arrives, arrests, and takes them away while London James arrives with Missy and her bodyguard to retrieve her stolen diamond necklace off of Bella's neck. Then, Ted and Stewey are taken to jail once again.

The Dog Who Saved Halloween[]

A year later since their last arrest, a few days before Halloween in a new town, Ted and Stewey are brought to City Hall where they are to be condemned to community services by their counselor, Miss Cloverfield as part of their daily work release program they must follow despite the number of past committed crimes on their resumes as Ted tries in vain to sweet-talk the counselor and give her a false good impression that both he and Stewey are more than willing to move on and become productive members of society, which she luckily doesn't take seriously. Otherwise, it's back to prison for both of them.

As part of their work release program, Ted and Stewey are assigned to clean up garbage and scoop up dog poop in dog parks; much to their dismay; especially, Stewey's. Eventually, Ted wishes they had just stayed in prison when he learns that they have to perform sanitation and yoga as well. Then, Stewey begins complaining about dogs as usual and about the idea of going straight until Ted reassures him otherwise once their work release program is over. As they resume their duty, Stewey continues complaining again as he inadvertently wipes dog poop on his face while pointing out how sweaty he's getting from this temporary job; much to Ted's disgust and amusement at the same time.

Later on, while still cleaning, Stewey complains to Ted about the fact of why they can't go trick-or-treating, to which Ted points out the risk of losing their chance at freedom over a little bit of candy and reminds Stewey about "breaking the cycle". Then, Ted reassures Stewey that once they have finished their program, they'll take their first flight to Daytona and hook up with their old boss, Tony Rowe where they'll finally be able to accomplish their dream of opening up a butcher shop on the beach. When Stewey asks how Ted plans to accomplish it, Ted says he doesn't know, but will think of something eventually, which causes Stewey to accidentally jab his foot with his garbage spear in frustration and anger and scream in major pain and agony.

Days have passed and Stewey has finally snapped up to a point where he can't take it anymore as he tries to pinch a lady's handbag behind her back with his garbage spear until Ted stops him to avoid any risk of getting caught and arrested again, which causes the two to fight and argue a little. Ted and Stewey continue fighting until they are spotted, recognized, and approached by none other than George Bannister and Zeus visiting the same dog park, having moved into the same neighborhood as well; much to their shock. However, as it turns out, Mr. Bannister simply has a proposition for Ted and Stewey, which they discuss amongst themselves in private before confirmation since they are under probation. Given his stomach problem, Stewey seems anxious and uncertain at first, but Ted states that this is their chance to change everything: no more bad luck, probation, and especially; picking up dog poop. After Stewey has been reassured otherwise, both Ted and Stewey agree to hear out Mr. Bannister's proposition, but are late for their next appointment, yoga, to which George and Zeus agree to go to as well since they have nothing else to do for the rest of the day.

During their yoga session, after Stewey fails to hit on a hot chick and embarrasses both Ted, Bannister, and Zeus with his nervous flatulence in front of everyone else, Ted and Stewey are surprised and shocked to find out from Bannister that he actually wants them to break into his next door neighbor, Professor Eli Cole's house whom he suspects of recently unusual, possibly supernatural and illegal activities on the night of Halloween tonight in order to find some possible evidence against him that Bannister needs to put him away. Though Stewey seems nervous at first, he quickly changes his mind when Bannister mentions that they could be heroes for this in the end. Despite their probation and the risk it may cost them, Ted and Stewey finally agree when Bannister promises them candy (a whole case of peanut butter cups) as payment in return for their services before giving them the address and leaving the class with Zeus.

Having arrived near Cole's house, Ted and Stewey watch it. Noticing and amazed as to how big the mansion is, Ted is interested in robbing it while Stewey is naively more focused on the decorations around it and the types of candy he could get during trick-or-treating. Then, Stewey quickly begins to panic when he hears Cole's dog, Medusa barking; given his anxiety and animosity of dogs and since Bannister never mentioned anything about Cole owning a dog either. Nevertheless, Ted reassures him that he will handle the dog with a juicy sausage drugged with a couple of sleeping pills he previously swiped from their counselor's purse despite the last two times he told Stewey the same thing. Then, Ted and Stewey watch Cole come out of the house and take out what appears to be a large wooden chest enough to possibly store gold inside from his car. When a few coins drop out of it, Ted is more interested in robbing the chest to use the fortune within it. However, when Stewey reminds him about not stealing and the risk of getting caught and arrested again, Ted states that this is their chance to retire. But then, Ted reassures Stewey that if they get caught, they will pin it on Bannister considering he's the one who hired them in the first place. After that, Stewey asks if he could make a fast trick-or-treating, but Ted denies it and asks him to drive away until the next time they return at dawn; much to Stewey's dismay.

At night, Ted and Stewey return to Cole's house and approach the gate as they communicate with Bannister through walkie-talkies. After Ted successfully subdues Medusa with the sausage drugged with sleeping pills, they open the gate and enter. When Ted asks Stewey to give him the clippers to cut the alarm system, Stewey refuses because he wants to do it himself since he used to work for an electrician for three months. However, Stewey only manages to get himself electrocuted after cutting the wrong wire. Nevertheless, Ted and Stewey manage to enter the mansion with ease either way despite Stewey's temporary dazed state from the shock. When Ted learns that Stewey forgot to bring a flashlight, the two resort to finding and using a candle instead. Then, Stewey starts to get a little scared when he thinks that the mansion is haunted, but an annoyed Ted further states that there are no such things as ghosts and reminds him not to commit any "funny business" during the job and to focus on their main objective: the chest of gold and possibly anything else out of the ordinary like Bannister said. As Stewey continues to freak out over nothing, Ted tells him to knock it off. Then, Ted communicates with Bannister again who tells him that what they're probably looking for is in the attic before they lock out and proceed further. Unfortunately, Ted and Stewey's walkie-talkie is damaged when a childish Stewey fights over it with Ted, thus, cutting off any further communications with Bannister.

As Ted and Stewey proceed with their objective, Stewey still thinks that the house is haunted and gets even more scared than ever, even at one point when his own shadow surprisingly comes to life momentarily; much to Ted's further annoyance as he still denies the belief in ghosts or anything else considered supernatural. Then, when Ted catches Stewey trying to steal something he considers as junk from the owner's drawer, he tells him to stop messing around and focus on the chest, which Stewey failed to find since he naively thinks a "ghost" stole it. Ted's repeated statement about the non-existence of ghosts is somewhat proved otherwise when they get scared witless of a glowing green-eyed corpse (a dummy in fact) after Ted opens a closet and run away in fear and panic. Unfortunately, with the doors locked and Medusa fully recovered, Ted and Stewey find themselves trapped inside the mansion, which causes Stewey to fart out of anxiety in Ted's face, thus, causing the candles' fire to ignite immensely before everything blacks out.

Having no other choice, Ted and Stewey remain inside and continue searching for the chest of gold everywhere either way. When they come across a book shelf that appears to be a dead end, Ted gives up and continues searching somewhere else, but Stewey stays behind only to unwittingly find a secret passageway through the book shelf leading up to the attic with the chest of gold stored in it as he calls back for Ted even after he opens the secret door his way and farts out of anxiety again. Unfortunately for Ted, his happiness is cut short when the gold coins turn out to be nothing more than just chocolate candy only wrapped in gold wrappings; much to Stewey's joy and excitement. Then, the two find themselves scared away again by another scary corpse dummy and Ted ends up accidentally left behind and trapped in the attic while Stewey continues running away, but eventually makes his way back after getting spooked by many other things in the house, leaving them both trapped inside the attic now.

Later, Ted and Stewey find themselves trapped with George and his wife, Belinda after a failed rescue attempt. Luckily, they are all rescued at the last minute by none other than Zeus, having conquered his own fears. Before leaving, they are shown what were Professor Cole's true intentions all along; much to Ted's annoyance when Mr. Bannister remains currently oblivious. Then, Ted, Stewey, and the Bannisters find themselves surrounded and apprehended by the police, having been called by Cole earlier, as they argue, complain, and point fingers at each other.

After being escorted out of the house and everything has been cleared, Ted and Stewey try in vain to escape due to Stewey getting caught red-handed having stolen one of Professor Cole's properties earlier when getting their handcuffs off by the cops before the latter give chase. However, their escape proves futile when they are seen the next morning back in their sanitation uniforms and going trick-or-treating in Halloween masks, only to end up denied candy for the fourth time at Belinda's mother, Annie's house this time since they are obviously too old to go trick-or-treating even after the latter threatens to call the police too. To compensate for their denial of candy and to silence a whining Stewey, Ted gives him toilet paper as demanded by the latter before they move along in defeat.

The Dog Who Saved the Holidays[]

A few months later, at Christmas in California, having borrowed money from their loan shark boss, Tony Rowe, Ted and Stewey have opened up a mobile dog van grooming business and spa management, which they somehow regret having done afterwards since they haven't been making enough money as they thought they would at first considering Ted's doubt that a new 5-star dog spa would eventually open up across the street, Stewey's never-ending animosity of dogs, and their original dream to open up a butcher/ice cream shop. As Ted and Stewey continue arguing, insulting their boss, and grooming the only two dog clients they've had all day in their van next to the beach at the same time, they are suddenly visited by none other than Tony Rowe himself in person and his thugs along with his own dog; much to their shock and surprise.

Ted and Stewey are taken down to the beach by Rowe and his thugs to discuss business. As it turns out, Tony Rowe wants the money they borrowed and owe him, but due to Ted and Stewey's current failing business in dog grooming going from bad to worse, they find themselves unable to pay him as promised. As punishment, Ted and Stewey are about to get their own thumbs cut off literally by Tony with a finger-cutter until one of his thugs, Mikey reminds him about how the two used to be second-story guys (people who broke into houses and stole things), which gives the loan shark an idea and convinces him to give Ted and Stewey another chance to redeem themselves and spare their thumbs. The deal goes that Ted and Stewey are assigned to steal a special diamond encrusted Christmas star of true value (or so it is said) from a rich widow's mansion and deliver it to Mr. Rowe down on the beach at 1:00 A.M. on December 24 in exchange for their thumbs as a sign of compensation and forgiveness and to show no bad feelings harbored over the insult of non-payment. Then, Ted and Stewey are left to groom Tony's dog per his instructions before the latter leaves with his thugs until the next time they meet to collect both his dog and the star.

Having arrived at the address later on, Ted and Stewey spy on it behind a tree. When Stewey asks what they're dealing with here, Ted briefs him about the widowed owner named Barbara and her late rich philanthropic/antique collecting husband he learned from Wikipedia. Before robbing, however, Ted states that first they have to surveil the place, get some intel, find out what the owner's daily routine is, and possibly find out where she might hide the star. When Stewey points out how hard it might be given the size of the place, Ted reveals he came prepared, having brought some spy stuff he previously stole from a spy shop over at Crenshaw on the way. After Ted stops Stewey from fooling around with the equipment, he immediately sends him out to plant a bug on the side of the house while reminding him what will happen if they don't get the job done right on time as the former keeps a lookout and communicates with the latter with an earpiece. When Ted sees Barbara out front, he instructs Stewey to plant the device on a window only higher, which he can't since he's a little overweight to do so. Now, despite having succeeded in planting the bug in the exact position after much difficulty, Stewey is suddenly spotted and surprised by a dog he does not fail to recognize as none other than Zeus himself in person, having come over to investigate due to hearing a sound of flatulence Stewey let out earlier from his usual anxiety, thus, causing the former to panic and run away scared while screaming in shock and horror and farting again.

As soon as Stewey makes it back into the van and Ted drives them away, Stewey doesn't hesitate to inform him that he saw Zeus, but Ted thinks he's being delusional and slaps him a few times to help snap him out of it. After Stewey confirms to Ted about planting the bug, Ted calms Stewey down by telling him that the dog he saw was probably one that only looked like Zeus since all dogs look alike and since Zeus and the Bannisters are probably a million miles away. However, Ted's theories are later proven wrong when he and Stewey hear the name "George Bannister" in a conversation on the radio from the bug they planted, therefore, realizing that Barbara is actually George Bannister's own sister; much to their shock and disbelief.

Later on, Ted and Stewey listen to a conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Bannister (who is due with another child soon) on the radio before Stewey pulls a farting joke on Ted; much to the latter's annoyance. Then, Ted and Stewey continue to listen to a later conversation between the whole family and learn that Barbara is about to put the one Christmas star they were assigned to steal on top of the Christmas tree they're decorating. Unfortunately for them, while Ted is still listening and Stewey is reluctantly grooming Tony's dog and farting at the same time, their bug is eventually discovered by Barbara who suspects is the doing of her competing next-door neighbor "rival", Ned McFinnigan and destroys it in front of him, which leaves the two with no choice, but to go to Plan C and take drastic measures now.

At night, a nervous Stewey sneaks into the house while Ted keeps a lookout from the van, communicates with the former with an earpiece, and reminds him again about the upcoming results if they fail their current assignment and not to get sidetracked by any "funny business" again either. After Stewey avoids detection from Mr. Bannister through Ted's warning despite nearly getting caught due to another case of nervous flatulence, he finally finds the star even though it was right behind him the whole time when entering another room before Ted angrily informed him; given his obliviousness and stupidity. Then, Stewey tries in vain to get the star through different methods that constantly fail until his latest method involving shaking the tree with rolled-up gift wrappings gets him exposed when a Christmas ball falls from the tree and breaks, which forces him to flee the scene while farting nervously and then, get chased out by Zeus.

On Christmas Eve, only a few hours before their deadline, when the family leaves for church, Ted and Stewey execute their plan. Though worried about Zeus, Ted came prepared again with a Doggie Dazer (equivalent to an ultrasound whistle of some sort) this time. Without further hesitation, Ted and Stewey break into the house while leaving Tony's dog inside the van. Unable to pick the lock, Ted resorts to opening it with a card Stewey stole earlier before entering. Once inside, they come face-to-face with Zeus' newly-adopted puppy sister, Eve (an early Christmas gift from Barbara to the family), muzzle and tie her up in the kitchen, and proceed with their main objective. Having found the star, Ted goes up the stairs to get it when Stewey refuses to do it first due to his supposed fear of heights, but not before warning him again about "funny business"; not realizing that the latter actually fooled him.

As Ted tries to get the star, Stewey gets pushed down by Zeus before the latter causes Ted to fall down and land on Stewey in pain. Realizing that they're dealing with Zeus and another one of his tricks again, Ted and Stewey resort to dealing with him first only to get bombarded by Tennis balls by Zeus. However, knowing how Zeus thinks, Ted and Stewey decide to outsmart him this time by letting him come to them instead of the opposite. After having fooled and caught Zeus in a net, they take him to the kitchen, muzzle, and tie him up with Eve before returning to their objective without further delays and distractions this time. When roping the star down fails and realizing that their time is up, Ted and Stewey try to hurry up as fast as they can unless they want to lose their thumbs literally.

After Stewey simply shakes the star off the Christmas tree, both he and Ted try to leave until they notice both Zeus and Eve gone (having freed themselves from their restraints earlier), panic, and flee while dealing with the supposedly-rabid dogs surrounding them in one room at the same time. Seeing through their tricks, Ted tries to use the Doggie Dazer on the dogs, but it hardly has any effect on them considering the latter are wearing antler muffs on their ears. Having had enough, Ted and Stewey decide to finish the dogs off personally once and for all until they are interrupted and knocked down temporarily by Tony Rowe and his thugs with a shovel and a bat, having arrived when they realized the two were late for their rendezvous on the beach and thought they were trying to sneak off on him. Then, Ted doesn't hesitate to give Tony the star when the latter demands it. However, after close examination, the star turns out to be a fugazi (a fake), so, Tony finally decides to cut off Ted and Stewey's thumbs as a minor compensation after all, which he intends to sell on the black market despite the latter's desperate pleas and protests (and Stewey naively trying to do the favor for him). Luckily, against better judgement, Zeus and Eve save the two by knocking down the Christmas tree along with Tony and his thugs in it as the police arrive, but not before they exit the scene to avoid arrest.

With Zeus having saved them, Ted and Stewey are overjoyed and relieved when they realize that they are free from their debts to Tony Rowe at last and decide to flee to Miami like they always dreamed they would as they watch both Tony and his thugs take the fall/rap instead when they see them getting arrested and taken away by the cops from a distance at the same time which the family returns home from church.

The next morning, Ted and Stewey wander on the beach as the former asks the latter about the possible existence of the real star, not realizing that someone else has already found it using a metal detector while their backs are turned, overlooking the horizon and enjoying their moment of freedom at the same time.

The Dog Who Saved Easter[]

A few months later, at Easter, having been caught and arrested again at some point, Ted and Stewey are put under probation again and are assigned sanitation duty in a park along with a group of fellow felons and miscreants. During their duty, Ted stops Stewey from eating a chocolate from the ground and is annoyed by the latter's nervous flatulence due to his work anxiety as he dreams about them finishing their working hours and leave town, their probation officer, and their temporary job. Then, things somewhat take a turn for the worst for them when they notice and recognize their former partner-in-crime and Ted's own simple-minded felon baby brother, Fred coming out of a van along with more criminals assigned sanitation duty as well.

Having failed to ignore him, Ted and Stewey reluctantly greet Fred when the latter recognizes and approaches them. After Ted learns of his brother's current situation, both he and Stewey finally reveal the reason they're still holding a grudge on him is because they're mad at him ever since he ratted them out on a bank job a few years ago and had them sent to prison for two years for it, which the latter considers a "favor" he did for them instead since Ted was always complaining about not knowing where he was going to live from one month to the next and Stewey was always complaining about not knowing where his next meal was going to come from; according to him. After Ted and Stewey reluctantly agree to allow Fred to bunk with them at their place since he apparently has no place to stay, Fred briefs them on a current job that's probably going to make them all rich before picking up and eating the chocolate Stewey intended to eat earlier; much to Ted's disgust and Stewey's chagrin.

From Fred (currently working for an abusive, cat-loving doggy day care owner named Cressida), in their trailer, Ted and Stewey are assigned a new job at a fair price. Nevertheless, Ted refuses; given the risk of getting caught and sent to jail again every time they come up with a plan. Then, when Fred mentions the assignment involving ruining and sabotaging Cressida's competing rival and former employee, Alice's own doggy day care business, Ted and especially, Stewey get anxious over the idea; given their elaborate history with dogs in the past that got them constantly caught again and and again, namely, by Zeus. While Ted still refuses to cooperate as he exits to the next room of their trailer, Stewey is all on board due to the price they're being offered for getting the job done, which he sees as an opportunity to spend a little quality time in Rio probably despite his constant animosity and fear of dogs. Then, when Fred implies to Stewey that they can get the job done without Ted, Stewey ironically reminds him about no "funny business" as he finally agrees to the plan.

A few days later, Stewey and Fred arrive at Alice's doggy day care in a van with a dog they probably stole earlier. Though Stewey complains about always having to hold animals, he is suddenly delighted and interested when Fred states that Alice's place could be filled with all kinds of riches they could possibly find and steal later on; given the size of it besides the money they're being offered by Cressida. Then, Stewey (not realizing the dog urinated on him which he naively mistakes for sweat and almost blowing the whole thing due to his idiocy) and Fred drop the dog they name "Rocky" off at Alice's before leaving again, having fitted Rocky's collar with a collar cam that records everything that goes on in the house in order to give Cressida her intel while they find out where Alice keeps her supposed loot; overseeing Ted's possible jealousy in all the fun in this.

Later, back at Cressida's place, Stewey, Fred, Cressida, and her new reluctant employee, Minnie watch Alice's place from Rocky's collar cam as Cressida tries to spot any possible code violations including health ones that could shut her competitor's place down for good. After spotting only a few violations, Cressida proposes to call the town inspector before telling Stewey to remove the smelly dog urine on his person.

Back at their trailer, while re-watching the video again, Stewey and Fred try to figure out how to get the loot as Ted returns with Chinese food for dinner he stole from a delivery guy on the way. Decisive, Stewey quickly digs in the chow like an animal; much to Ted's disgust. Then, Ted appears kind of impressed with Fred's limited intelligence when he learns about the dog collar cam idea. When Fred mentions Cressida's idea of calling in health inspectors to shut the place down despite minor code violations seen at Alice's place, Ted slowly begins to finally cooperate by helping Stewey and Fred come up with a plan that involves sending both Fred and Stewey as the health inspectors instead since Alice obviously has no idea what the real health inspectors look like, which they also see as an opportunity to case the place all day long using some "equipment" Fred still owns from a previous job. Although Ted slightly refuses further involvement, he finally but reluctantly accepts to fully cooperate after much persuasion from Stewey and Fred.

The next day, Stewey and Fred arrive and enter Alice's place, disguised as health inspectors, while Ted remains in the van to do surveillance using his brother's special equipment. Stewey is left to look upstairs while Fred lures Alice away through an inspection of the dogs during recreation time, but instead, he naively proceeds to the kitchen. Ignoring the Stein brothers on his earpiece, Stewey fixes up a sandwich in the kitchen, thus, committing "funny business" again; much to the Stein brothers' annoyance. When Stewey finally listens to the Stein brothers, he goes upstairs to look for the loot while fooling around a little. The moment Stewey finds a safe inside Alice's room, the real health inspector arrives in his van, thus, forcing both him and the Stein brothers to bail out before their ruse is discovered after warning them. Before exiting, however, unlike Fred, Ted and Stewey are incredibly shocked to learn that Zeus is staying at the same doggy day care as well while the Bannisters (including the new family arrival, Riley) are away on vacation on a cruise after the latter helps Alice find her fire extinguisher while mentioning his name out loud in gratitude.

Back at Cressida's place, knowing that Alice has passed the inspection, Stewey and Fred are now informed by Cressida to come up with something more devious to ensure that Alice's business fails as she threatens to call the police and have them arrested for violating their probation if they fail next time. For a start, Stewey and Fred are given a tube containing fleas inside to use against the dogs at Alice's place.

The next day, while Alice and Zeus are out at the former's traditional Easter egg hunt party, Stewey, in a rabbit costume, is sent inside to put the fleas on the dogs' beds while the Stein brothers stay behind to keep watch (Ted doing surveillance in the van); much to their amusement as they continue mocking him. After cutting out the gate's lock with a bolt cutter and scrapes off the dog poop on his shoe he accidentally stepped on with a rake, Stewey enters the place while Fred throws dog treats to keep the dogs busy. After the Stein brothers stop Stewey from eating one of the dog treats, Stewey approaches the beds and opens the tube, only to get himself infested with the fleas instead and flee before getting whacked by the rake. As Stewey exits, he begins to scratch due to the flea infestation on his costume. Later, the trio plan to steal the dogs and bring them over at Cressida's. Though Stewey's plan to lure the dogs into the van with a flute (à la Pied Piper) sounds ridiculous to the Stein brothers at first, they are eventually surprised when they see that it actually worked in the end despite the latter fooling around with the flute a little before they drive away to Cressida's, not realizing that Rocky's collar cam had been left behind in the process though.

After much difficulty driving back to Cressida's place due to a faulty GPS and locking the dogs there while Fred returns to break into Alice's place and tries to open the safe, Stewey is paid the promised amount of money by Cressida, thanks the latter, and leaves to join up with Ted. Having been paid and glad that everything's going according to plan and that they haven't seen or dealt with Zeus so far, Ted and Stewey drive out to eat somewhere and then, back to Alice's place to carry out with their own objective with Fred now.

Again, Ted stays in the van to do surveillance while Stewey goes out to rejoin Fred inside the house. As Stewey shows the paid money to Fred, Fred considers it "small potatoes" compared to what could be hidden inside the safe. Unfortunately for the Stein brothers, most of what Stewey brought to help open the safe are nothing but useless childish toys until finally, he brings out a useful crowbar at the last minute. But then, the trio hear some barking, thus, realizing that Zeus has returned along with the other dogs he rescued from Cressida earlier including his new girlfriend, Gabrielle.

While Fred stays to open the safe with a crowbar, Stewey goes out to investigate as he brings along Peter the rabbit with him for supposedly good luck. On the way down, Stewey comes across and eats a couple of jelly beans found on the floor; naively thinking it was the rabbit's good luck when in fact, they were left here on purpose by Zeus to lure him into another one of his traps; much to Ted's further annoyance. Ignoring Ted's warning about a possible trap on the table and putting Peter aside, Stewey proceeds to get his hands on a couple of treats in a basket, only to get his right hand snapped by a hidden mouse trap and then, slip on a big pile of jelly beans tossed on the ground by Zeus. Then, Ted sounds more annoyed when he sees that the safe was unlocked and worst of all, empty the whole time after Fred opened it with ease. Still on the ground despite having regained consciousness, Stewey is helped up by Fred; given his weight.

As Stewey and Fred exit, they suddenly get bombarded with Easter eggs by Zeus despite Ted's early warning before they are finally subdued by a chandelier Zeus drops on them (almost the same way both Stewey and Ted were once defeated the first time during their first scuffle and encounter with Zeus two years ago at Christmas). With Stewey and Fred down, Ted reluctantly sets out to finish the job himself using a taser. Once inside, Ted is about to attack Zeus until the latter's friends help pin Ted down and Zeus finishes him off by tipping the poop bin to fall and literally cover him with dog poop; much to his horrible disgust.

After the cops arrive and arrest the trio including Cressida, Ted and Stewey are suddenly angered as Ted loses his temper and tries to attack Fred when the latter tries to put the blame on them for what happened, only to be restrained and dragged into the cars by the police as the two brothers continue arguing. Once in the car, Ted and Stewey wish each other a Happy Easter as minor compensation for their usual defeat before being driven back to jail.

The Dog Who Saved Summer[]

A few months later, in summer, still in jail, Ted discusses their next score with Stewey and Fred. For some reason, despite past differences, Ted plans to steal a very rare diamond, passed down from Italian royalty, from a jewelry store owned by Princivalli and sell it to none other than their old boss, Tony Rowe who has promised to pay the trio $3,000,000 a piece for it as soon as they are out of prison. Fortunately for Stewey and Fred, there's not enough evidence to hold them only whereas Ted still remains behind bars since his face had been seen all over the security cameras from the last job, probably a heist they tried to pull; according to a certain Judge Martin. Nevertheless, Stewey and Fred need Ted since he's the only one with the really big plan on how to rob the diamond and they obviously can't do this without him, so, they promise to get him out one way or another soon.

A few days later, at Princivalli's Jewelers located within a mall, disguised as an engaged couple, Fred and Stewey ask Princivalli to check for a diamond-shaped ring for their so-called "nuptials". When Stewey tries to leave out of embarrassment, Fred stops him and threatens to tell Ted that he ruined the plan. Then, while Stewey keeps the romantically infatuated, naive jeweler busy by trying out almost every ring the latter has brought out, Fred sneaks around to look for the real diamond they're after under the false pretense that he's looking at some other rings in another section despite Stewey's reluctance and further embarrassment. After Fred finds the diamond and accidentally makes a slight noise in the process, Stewey keeps the jeweler further distracted with a false scream when trying to take one of the rings stuck on one of his thick fingers off of him. Finally, after Fred returns and twists the ring right off of Stewey's finger, they both leave after thanking the jeweler for his time.

Later, disguised as a priest and a rabbi, Stewey and Fred visit Ted in prison and engage in a phone call conversation in codes to avoid suspicions of their true objective from the cops. They explain to Ted that it's impossible to get to the diamond through the front door, so, the latter suggests that they should look at the place next door, which turns out to be a dog obedience and agility school; much to Stewey's apparent shock as usual, and that they should also probably get a survey of the mall from City Hall before they execute the plan in order to help them know how to find an easy way to the diamond before demanding them to get him out of here as soon as possible. Before leaving, Stewey naively tells Ted that he misses him.

At City Hall, Stewey becomes romantically infatuated with the overweight counselor named Marsha as Fred asks for the survey plan of the mall. Using his charm and giving out his driver's license despite Fred's annoyance and impatience, Stewey manages to get the plan from Marsha with ease for free, from whom he learns that she has as much in common with him as either one thought since Marsha's currently looking for a place to stay after recently having gotten out of jail; given her past criminal history involving credit card fraud, extortion, hijacking, breaking and entering, and circus clown impersonation, aside from their love for food including their favorite: pig's head sandwich, which Stewey takes a bite out of before leaving with Fred while still flirting with Marsha.

Back at the mall, disguised as plumbers, Stewey and Fred learn from the survey that all they have to do is get to the work tunnel behind the dog obedience school. After nervously farting due to his never-ending anxiety, fear, and animosity of dogs once at the school, Stewey and Fred manage to convince the receptionist to let them in under the false pretense of inspecting the pipes due to a supposed smelly gas report even after smelling the horrible smell from Stewey's nervous flatulence earlier and exterminating big rats when the receptionist notices and suspiciously asks about the sledgehammer they brought with them before proceeding downstairs to the work tunnel. However, despite the map, Stewey and Fred appear to be lost on the way; thanks to Fred's lack of sense of direction. Then, Stewey starts to panic when he hears dog barking, sees, and somehow recognizes Zeus running away from other dogs chasing him even though Fred simply states that all dogs just look the same in the end before leaving to proceed with the diamond theft later.

The next day, in the tunnel, after much argument through Stewey's complaints and his naive assumption about jewelry stores having ice cream when he states that he likes to eat ice cream when he gets hot, Stewey and Fred start breaking and smashing holes in vain (which George Bannister mistakes for noises he's making when punching a punching bag with Zeus in the next room) through almost every wall that could possibly lead to the diamond vault with the sledgehammer to no avail until finally, they give up and realize that they need Ted for this, so, they decide to bust him out of prison as soon as possible. At night, in a restaurant, after a pancake meal too many as Stewey states to Fred that he thinks better when he eats, each one discusses his own plan on how to get Ted out. Finally, remembering how their mother once had to break their Uncle Joey out of prison when they were kids, Fred suggests to Stewey that they simply have a cake stashed with tools inside and delivered to his brother with a little help from Marsha.

In jail, Ted is visited by Marsha having brought the "cake" made out of tuna, mayo, pork grinds, Dijon mustard, salami, bologna, liverwurst, and sardines from Stewey's fridge with a nail file stashed inside it. Though Ted doesn't know who Marsha is, he is delighted to learn that Marsha is a friend of Stewey having brought him a "cake". However, Ted is forced by the security guard to eat the "cake" to prove that it's not some kind of trick; much to the former's disgust when he takes a bite out of it. Luckily, with the guard convinced and both he and Marsha gone, Ted is free to take out the nail file, use it to cut the window bars of his cell, and escape at last.

On the day of the dog school competition, Ted, Stewey, and Fred make their way into the tunnel using the survey despite having been spotted by Mr. Lee the custodian whom Fred eventually takes care of and leaves gagged and tied to a chair and locked in a store room. Using a drill, Ted slightly manages to open the right wall to the diamond vault. Then, Ted reluctantly agrees to allow Stewey to fully open the wall his way after much insistence on the latter's part. Ironically, Stewey's method of literally using his head against the wall works; much to the impressed Stein brothers' surprise. With Stewey less confident than before, the Stein brothers encourage him to proceed to the diamond as he tries to avoid the laser beams around the place on the way while nervously farting again even though the Stein brothers secretly somewhat think otherwise.

Once close to the diamond after such impressive skills, an impressed Ted with Fred quickly warns Stewey about the weighted scale it's on before he can grab it, meaning Stewey will have to quickly swipe the diamond and replace it with something of the exact size, mass, and weight at the exact same time. After naively trying to replace the diamond with a condiment and a banana, Stewey finally replaces it with a sandwich but not before Ted and Fred ask him to take a small bite out of it since it's a little too big. Although the switch appears to work at first, their joy is short-lived when the scale is suddenly unbalanced and the alarm goes off, so, the Stein brothers tell Stewey to hurry up in order to avoid getting caught, which he does before panicking once temporarily stuck in the wall.

Once unstuck, Ted, Stewey, and Fred take a moment to admire the diamond's beauty until they are surprised by the barking of none other than Zeus himself. Though shocked, Stewey threatens to grab and smash him as payback while Ted flees with the diamond, thus, carelessly leaving both Stewey and his brother to deal with Zeus themselves. Despite Stewey's unclear warning, Fred trips on a wire set up by Zeus as another one of his booby traps. However, before resuming chasing Zeus, Stewey warns Fred to look out for anymore traps Zeus has in store for them on the way; given his and Ted's past experiences with the former K-9 before Fred came along. After avoiding getting tripped by kibble left on the stairs by Zeus, Stewey is told by Fred that this "business" business, not "funny business" from now on. While Fred is left to handle a former Marine dog named Apollo working with Zeus, Stewey is left to deal with Zeus who manages to knock the former down with a punching bag before he lands on Fred.

Once outside, Ted stops to admire the diamond again until he finds himself being tormented and chased by a toy chopper controlled by Bannister's son, Ben. After regaining consciousness, Stewey and Fred try to escape, only to get caught by security at last. Having seen the footage from his vault security system, Princivalli identifies Stewey as the one who stole his diamond whereas Mr. Lee, having been rescued by Apollo, identifies Fred as the one who tied him up, to which the latter tries to naively deny everything that has happened before getting kicked by the former as he and Stewey are being taken away. As for Ted, Ben continues controlling his toy chopper to chase him further away until he is dragged straight towards an approaching police car. Having been recognized and reported for his escape from prison, Ted is arrested and mocked at by the cops at the same time as they take back the diamond and drive him back to jail while making further sure that the trio are locked away for good this time.

Trivia[]

• Ted Stein and Stewey McMann are similar to Jasper and Horace in the 1996 live-action remake of 101 Dalmatians and the Wet Bandits, Harry and Marv, in the 1990 popular film Home Alone and its sequel, as they too are robbers, suffer several accidents, get outwitted by the protagonists, and get arrested afterwards.
• In each sequel, Ted and Stewey are referred to the following insulting nicknames by Tony Rowe: Dumb and Dumber; a reference to the 1994 movie, Dumb and Dumber starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne whereas Stewey is mostly referred to many as Dumbo; a reference to the little flying elephant from the 1941 Disney movie and 2019 Disney remake of the same name (by Ted), Costello; a reference to the comedy duo, Abbott and Costello (by Cressida), and Don Juan; a reference to the legendary Spaniard proverbial for his seduction of women (by Fred).
• In The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation, Ted quotes: "This means war."; a reference to the famous Groucho Marx quote: "Of course you know this means war." from the 1935 movie, A Night at the Opera.
• In The Dog Who Saved the Holidays, Stewey quotes: "McMann. Stewey McMann."; a reference to the famous James Bond quote: "Bond. James Bond." in the James Bond franchise.

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Criminals Ted Stein and Stewey McMann Others Tony Rowe | Fred Stein | Cressida