When Barbara meets her future husband, Ray, it is love - and dog - at first sight. Over the course of thirty-two years, seventeen relocations and nine dogs, their mutual love of dogs guides them on their unconventional path. The love that Barbara and Ray get in return is literally lifesaving, with one dog attacking a lethal intruder and another discovering Barbara's cancer.

Her own survival story underscores the story of how her dogs become survivors themselves. Each new dog adds its own dynamic to the family, sometimes upending it.