06/02/2026
This senior saved my dogs.
No, seriously.
Over the winter, on one of the coldest days of the season, our heat went out. After a visit from our HVAC technician, the heat was fixed, but unfortunately our backyard gate was accidentally left open.
I didn’t realize it right away. What tipped us off was our “responsible” dog running to the front door and barking to let me know the other two had escaped, just like she has done before. She stayed behind and tattled.
The panic set in immediately. I was home alone with my two toddlers, my car hadn’t been started in several days, it was below zero, I couldn’t find my purse, and suddenly I was scrambling for leashes while trying to figure out how to safely get out the door.
Thankfully, Marie spotted them near a busy road, stopped traffic, got them to safety, and went completely out of her way to take them to the Humane Society after realizing they had no collars. Because they were microchipped, I got the call every pet owner hopes for.
“We found your dogs, they're safe.”
Relieved doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. The tears I’d held back while going into rescue mode finally broke free, and I sobbed as Oakley and Sunny, aka Bonnie and Clyde, barreled around the counter in the lobby of the shelter, undoubtedly excited to tell me all about their forbidden adventure and the new friends they met that day.
After bringing them home, I made a post in our local community group hoping to find the person who had helped them so I could properly thank the kind stranger. Not long after, a woman commented. The hero was her daughter: Marie, a local high school senior.
As a small token of my sincerest gratitude for saving my fur babies, I offered Marie a senior photo session. While her vision for her senior photos leaned a little more editorial and film-inspired than my typical style, that’s part of what made this session so fun. I loved getting to incorporate her inspiration while still keeping the warmth, connection, and storytelling that are at the heart of my work.
What started as a freezing morning, a broken furnace, and two runaway dogs turned into one of the sweetest reminders that kindness still exists all around us.
But the story doesn’t end there.
Humane Society of Monroe County saw the post too. Somewhere along the way, they found my photography page and reached out to ask if I would be interested in photographing some of their adoptable dogs. Of course I said yes.
So Marie chose to stop and help two dogs she didn’t know, and because of that, those dogs made it home safely, a senior session was gifted, and now even more shelter dogs have a chance to be seen by potential adopters through professional photos.
One small act of kindness created a ripple effect that touched far more lives than anyone could have expected.
We hear so much about the bad in the world these days. The division. The negativity. The things that make us lose faith in people. But every now and then, someone reminds us who we can be for one another.
Marie did exactly that.
Marie, thank you. Not just for saving my dogs, but for reminding me, and so many others, that there are still genuinely good people in this world. 🤍
ashleylen.com
