Author David Sedaris will release a new essay collection, The Land and Its People: Essays, on May 26 in hardcover, large print trade paperback, eBook, and audio formats. The book includes pieces in which he reflects on contemporary pet culture and recounts memories of the collies his family kept during his childhood.

In the collection, Sedaris describes a shift in how dogs are treated in public spaces. "I don't get dogs anymore, don't understand why they need to be in grocery stores and on airplanes. You never see them tied up outside shops or restaurants nowadays," he said. "They have to be inside, no different from people."

One essay draws on a column he read in a New York Times column about a woman who took her dog to a play area in a park. The dog, which was in heat, was mounted and impregnated by another dog upon arrival. The woman sued the owner of the male dog, seeking payment for half of the pregnancy care and half of the expenses for the puppies' first six weeks.

The owner of the male dog offered to pay for an abortion for the woman's dog. The woman declined, citing that it was against her religion. "A dog abortion is against her religion? I thought when I read that," Sedaris wrote. "I'm telling you this as a friend, but you're both crazy."

He contrasts that account with his own family's experience raising collies. The family's female collie, Dutchess, had a litter of six puppies in their garage at no cost to the family. They did not know Dutchess was pregnant until the first puppy was born, so they did not provide prenatal care. When one newborn puppy appeared close to dying, his mother warmed it in an oven, and the puppy recovered afterward. The puppies fed on their mother's milk at no cost to the family and lived on a blanket next to a car until they were placed in a cardboard box labeled "Free Collies." The family then took the puppies to a grocery store and gave them away.