Isabel Klee spent her twenties racing between English classes to volunteer at an animal shelter on Manhattan’s east side because books and shelter dogs were the twin pillars holding together the chaos of her life. After graduation she worked for a dog photographer carrying camera equipment around the world for seven years, but on the eve of her 30th birthday she was unexpectedly let go leaving her facing a choice between finding another job or making it on her own doing what she loved most, helping dogs. The timing lined up with moving into a new apartment with her fiancé Jacob and rescue dog Simon that had a backyard for the first time in seven New York City apartments.
Isabel welcomed their first foster dog Ken and decided to document the entire process on video to show people exactly how fostering works so it would not be intimidating. She handed Jacob her phone asking him to record her in the subway tunnels with excitement and nervousness filming everything from Ken coming off the transport van to introducing him to Simon. When she posted it to Instagram and TikTok the video miraculously blew up and people loved watching the journey launching her into an entirely new career.
Since that first foster Isabel has helped nearly 30 difficult medical cases find loving homes while raising over half a million dollars for animal welfare organizations and growing her audience to over two million followers. She has worked with major brands like Toyota Chewy and Williams Sonoma, and her greatest dream came true when she wrote a memoir called Dogs Boys and Other Things I’ve Cried About publishing in spring 2026. Isabel says she feels like the luckiest person in the world making a career doing exactly what she always dreamed of helping dogs and telling stories, and her advice for people hoping to make their passion their full time job is to start small before going out on your own.
