Rescuer — albeit of strays (8)
I believe the answer is:
lifeboat
'rescuer' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'albeit of strays' is the wordplay.
'strays' indicates an anagram.
'albeit'+'of'='albeitof'
'albeitof' is an anagram of 'LIFEBOAT'.
(Other definitions for lifeboat that I've seen before include "saver, in the main" , "To fable I turn if in danger of sinking" , "It rescues people in trouble at sea" , "I bet loaf on maritime rescue vessel" , "Rescuer" .)