Dog-obsessed since childhood, she landed her first postgrad job as an assistant to a dog photographer, and something clicked into place: a career focused on helping dogs was her new dream.

Isabel quickly found a passion for rehabilitating rescue dogs and helping them get adopted. At the same time, she was caught up in a whirlwind of friendships, parties, fickle boyfriends and grand romances, which she recounts in honest, tender and sometimes devastating chapters about her search for love and belonging.

Isabel’s first true love, though, was Simon, a fluffy puppy who’d been saved from the meat trade. As the highs and lows of her twenties hit Isabel, it was Simon who kept her grounded. Together, Isabel and Simon created a community of dog lovers and a tight-knit group of friends pursuing their dreams.

In this honest and moving memoir, Isabel weaves together the stories of her foster dogs – and the challenges she helped them overcome – with tales of complicated relationships, hard decisions and great loves in New York City, all leading to a happy ending not only for the rescue pups but for Isabel herself.