The Gogans are Pete's foster family (formerly) since they have a bill of sale to prove it (formerly) but they are abusive to him and hardly treat him like family, so Elliott found and saved him one day and they ran away together. The Gogans go after him during the night while singing "The Happiest Home in These Hills" as a way of convincing him to come back with them and threatening to hurt him. Luckily, they fail to do so when Elliott (invisible) throws them into a mud puddle with one swing of his tail one by one (except Merle who accidentally gets thrown in by his idiotic sons). Nevertheless, they just keep looking for Pete because Lena had paid $50 plus 50 cents legal fee for him, and had no more of that left. She claims that unless they find him, they will have to work on the farm with their own two hands.
A few days later, they're seen looking for Pete in Passamaquoddy in their wagon while asking Hoagy about him who denies seeing him. When Lena mentions Elliott, the townspeople are alarmed, and she tells Merle that they've come to the right place. Later, they find Pete, Nora, and Lampie fishing on a raft, and they try to convince Nora to give him back to them through their song "Bill of Sale". Nevertheless, they fail again when Nora and Lampie refuse, and finally, Elliott (invisible) dives into the water and swims towards their raft, destroying it in the process and forcing them to fall into the water.
They eventually team up with Dr. Terminus and Hoagy to catch Pete and Elliott after getting sick from getting wet. They bring in a harpoon Dr. Terminus ordered from them at sunset to the boathouse. After he tricks Pete into thinking that Elliott is in town and tearing it apart and lures him into the boathouse, the Gogans catch him and hold him as bait for a trap set for Elliott. When they see an invisible force holding Hoagy (after he lures him into the trap) and taking the shape of a dragon after everyone drops nets on him, they are amazed and terrified. They decide that they and Dr. Terminus are both even so they try to bag Pete up and take him away in their wagon. In the end, Elliott, after breaking free from the trap, saves him, burns the bill of sale, and scares them while making them fall into a barrel of tar before having them give up on Pete. After Elliott scares their horse away, they go after him and are never seen again.