One of the features I'll be running on the blog while I'm on maternity leave is called "Why I Love This Photo."  Guest writers submit their favorite photos and the stories behind them.  Anyone can submit a photo and story - it's a fun way to appreciate photography and what makes it so important.  So feel free to send your story to me at kerryrailey@gmail.com.  I can't wait to hear it. 

This week's submission comes from my sister, Katie. I was so excited when she submitted a story. One might think that whenever you run a feature like this, close friends and family would line right up to help out, but that's not always the case. Sometimes people are too shy. Most times people are too busy. Sometimes people figure, "oh, enough people will do it. She doesn't need me to chime in as well." We are all guilty of this in some facet of our lives; I for one should certainly be attending more of my sister's band gigs. My excuse? Kids. Is that a good enough excuse? Is any excuse good enough?

Excuse my little digression into social philosophy. All this is to say, I was deeply touched and downright giddy when Katie submitted her story and photo out if the blue one day. It made me so happy. I think it will make you happy too; especially if you're an animal lover.

So sit back and enjoy this great tale of one couple and their pup.

I'm not sure what our life was like before Isla came into it. When Chris and I started becoming serious, I told him that eventually there would be a dog in our lives whether he liked it or not. He had never had a dog, but was keen on the idea. We got to the point where we knew we weren't really ready to take on the responsibilities of having a dog of our own, so we decided to foster. So many animal shelters need foster families just as much as they need people to adopt. The more fosters they have, the more room they can make to save other animals that are in desperate need of a home. We knew it would be difficult-how could we take this dog in and then give it away to someone else?-but we wanted to help in any way we could.

There was a list of dogs on the shelter's website that we could foster-including an adorable litter of black snuggly puppies. They were about five weeks old and cute as buttons! Chris and I picked one out at random and emailed the shelter telling them we were ready! Much to my dismay, they already had fosters for all of the black puppies. However, there were still about five dogs to choose from. All of them were cute, all of them were helpless, and all of their pictures seemed to plead, "Katie-pick me!" Feeling overwhelmed, I just sent the pictures to Chris and made him pick. He texted me back a one word response-"Isla."

We picked her up from the shelter on a snowy Sunday in February. We planned it so it fell on my vacation and I could be home with her for a week and hopefully she would be adopted soon after that. I remember trying to calm the butterflies in my belly as we walked up the steps. "What are we doing? Are we ready for this? What if she's a biter? What if she hates us?" Or worse "What if she loves us?" One of the volunteers from the shelter opened the door and my eyes fell directly on an awkward, wiggly little body that was on the floor. Her tail was wagging and she was deep in a playful wrestling match with another dog. The volunteer was saying something about how much to feed her, but her words were slowly fading away as my eyes were locked on this dog. I couldn't get over how beautiful she was and how much I wanted to hug her. "She was a stray on the streets of Kentucky. They found her by herself." As if I wasn't already a pile of mush, this dog's story sent me over the edge.

We took her home that night in a crate in the back of Chris's truck. When we opened the crate to take her out, we were shocked. Where was the playful, tail-wagging pup we had met ten minutes ago? This dog was backed into the corner as close to the wall of the crate as she could get and wouldn't budge. With patience, treats, and calm voices, we finally got her out and into our apartment.

And she never left.

We lasted a whole day and a half before pleading with the shelter to let us keep her. She was always ours. We showed her a little kindness, love, safety, and trust and she gave her whole self to both of us. (I'm sure the massive amounts of treats and bones I spent a fortune on at Petco didn't hurt either.)

This photo was taken about a month after we adopted Isla. I just love how happy she and Chris look. She takes every chance she gets to smother us with kisses, so I love that this picture shows it. Having Isla has taught us so much and it hasn't always been easy. I have known the love of a dog before, but the love of a rescue dog is pretty special. I think someone sent her to us for a reason!---I don't happen to be a dog person. The truth is, they scare me a little when they jump all over me. Katie had a dog when we were growing up and he was lovely. I didn't think she would ever find another dog of his caliber. Yet she did, in Isla. Isla is a sweetheart and she is so clearly thankful for her new life with Katie and Chris. It's beautiful. And Rosie Mae is OBSESSED with her pal Isla. Isla is a fantastic addition to our family. Thank you so much for this story, Kate!!!

Come back next week for another guest blogger and why they love their photo!  And if you're interested in submitting, I'd love to have you! Email me at Kerryrailey@gmail.com or message me via the Irish Eyes Photography Facebook Page.

-Kerry:)