[1] In this episode, Jerry helps Newman with getting a transfer by filling in for him on his mail route, Kramer's preference for veterinarians over doctors leads to him exhibiting dog-like behavior, Elaine dates a "bad breaker-upper", and George tries to win the pity of a tenant association so he can get a new apartment.
He finds a dog named Smuckers who also has a cough, and takes him to a veterinarian, behind Jerry's back, since he trusts vets more than doctors.
On their date, Alan tells her she has a bump on her nose, and she attacks him with a fork, which Kramer, despite his sore throat, manages to bring to the attention of the authorities.
George is sympathetic at first, but after Kramer (who owns a book on real-life sea voyages) informs him of the details of the Andrea Doria (the ship took 10 hours to sink, and only 51 out of 1,706 people died), he feels Clarence's case is weak.
At Jerry's suggestion, George requests a hearing with the association and tells them various misfortunes of his life, leaving the committee in tears, but Alan gets the apartment instead by bribing the building's super.
[2] Elaine's descriptor "stab-worthy" is a callback to "The Sponge", while the scene where Kramer leads police to the restaurant is an homage to the TV series Lassie.