Life isn’t easy, but there are two essential things that Xine Segalas uses to help her navigate daily. First, writing every morning in a journal to download her thoughts, a habit she started as a teenager and continues to practice to this day. Second, but always first in priority, are her dogs, her “pack”, Xine’s pack. The dogs that help her get through the daily crap, even when they are adding to it.

Everyone knows one of these dogs. If you don’t have one of them yourself, your friend or neighbor does, or you see them on the street. They are Shetland Sheepdogs, Brittanys, Goldendoodles, Aussie Shepherds, and mixed breeds. They’re the dogs that make you laugh and make you cry, sometimes simultaneously. The ones you rescued only to realize they saved you. They are the dogs that left us too soon and the ones that needed our help to make the tough decisions. Their imprints are all over our hearts, and the lessons they teach are immeasurable. “Strays and Others” is a collection of those stories – the adventures, the misadventures, and everything in-between – and the lessons Xine and her family learned about life from their furry and feathery friends.