Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs don’t come from pushing harder; they come from leaning into the simple thing you already love.

In this episode, I sit down with Isabel Klee, a writer and content creator whose journey started with fostering dogs and sharing their stories online. What began as a passion project quickly grew into something much bigger, with a loyal following, a book, and even a TV series in development. But at the center of it all is something surprisingly simple: authentic storytelling rooted in love and authenticity.

We talk about how Isabel combined her two biggest passions, writing and animal rescue, and what she’s learned along the way about relationships, patience, and connection. From navigating her twenties to building a career that feels aligned, Isabel’s story is a reminder that you don’t always need a perfect plan to create something meaningful.

What You’ll Discover:

1. How fostering dogs led to a bigger platform (01:24)
2. The power of saying what you want out loud (10:33)
3. Love, connection, and communication (13:54)
4. Lessons from caring for animals (15:45)
5. Building a life that feels aligned (20:10)

This conversation is a reminder that sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is trust what already feels right and follow it. If this one resonates with you, be sure to subscribe to Things No One Tells You and share this episode with a friend.

You can watch this interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/09MnxFXzgh4

For a full transcript and more, check out our blog post: https://www.lindsaycz.com/show-notes/isabel-klee-45

Mentioned in the episode

What It Really Takes to Win Gold with Angela Ruggiero https://www.lindsaycz.com/show-notes/angela-ruggiero-37

Check out more from Isabel Klee:

Follow Isabel on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/simonsits/ and on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@simonsits

Isabel’s new book Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About just came out: https://simonsits.com/en-cad/products/dogs-boys-and-other-things-ive-cried-about

Support this podcast:

Follow Things No One Tells You on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thingsnoonetellsyoupod/

Stay connected with Lindsay https://www.lindsaycz.com/ and follow her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycz/

Subscribe to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@lindsaycz

[00:00:19] And, you know, so many people could look at anything and say, well, I could have done that. But you didn't. And so the people who are right moving up in life and progressing are the ones who actually took the risk and did it and put themselves out there. So I think to be like, oh, just be kind. It's so simple.

[00:00:44] Lindsay: Hey guys, okay. Welcome to this episode of Things No One Tells You with Miles and me, Miles. Say Hi. I'm showing you, Miles, because I am, I'm officially a dog person. I hadn't been a dog person growing up.

[00:01:24] So Isabelle is a writer and a content creator. You very well may have seen her content or heard of her because she has over 2 million followers across her social media platforms. She gained her following on social media through these incredible stories of dogs that she was fostering, in partnership.

[00:02:09] Her authenticity is because of what she loves and really believes in, in terms of animal rescue and these dogs. It just shines through. So, Isabel doing what she's doing, has found all of this success in different things that have come up. She has just written a book, her new book is called Dogs, Boys and Other Things I've Cried About.

[00:03:03] These other things started happening. Like the book obviously has been in the works for a while, but then the rights are picked up, and this is going to be a series, and I love how this is something that you have said was your passion, maybe you define it as purpose. That really is something that you are now living out in such a big way.

[00:03:25] Isabel: It's unreal. I mean, I wake up every day, not an exaggeration, and I am just so grateful. I literally, this probably sounds so annoying, but I literally go to bed at night excited to wake up and like work, work because I'm just so excited about everything, and I'm so, like, I am literally living my dream.

[00:04:05] Lindsay: What do you make of that? What do you think is the reason behind that?

[00:04:27] I, as soon as I could talk, I was pretending to be a dog. I would walk on all floors and like to eat my food on the floor. My preschool teacher had to call my mom one time because I kept drawing. All I would draw were dogs. And then around Halloween time, I kept drawing vampire dogs, and she was like, you're, she's like scaring the other children because like, she won't stop drawing these like, vampire dogs.

[00:05:16] My. My mom was an English teacher, seventh grade English teacher. My dad was a journalist. I went to college for writing.

[00:05:29] Isabel: I love creative writing. I love, you know, I wrote, it's funny, I wrote a lot of personal essays about dating, and I love writing about love.

[00:06:01] Yeah. That I would tell the stories of these dogs and. I would write about it, and I would share these videos. And my literary agent happened to follow me, and she's the one who cold emailed me and just said, I see your videos. I love it.

[00:06:19] Isabel: Yes.

[00:06:21] Isabel: She said, I saw your videos.

[00:06:46] And it's all just like you put out what you wanted into the world, and it all just happens.

[00:07:11] They spend all this time, you know, like maybe you're thinking about what I should do, what I've been, you know, raised to do whatever it is. But I really took that to heart. 'Cause I'm like, you know, you're right for some reason, for some people, and I think especially if you're. Later in your career, it can become hard to say, what is that?

[00:07:58] And also just the fact that when I watch your videos, like when I watched your, you know, your rescue stories and the stories about Tiki and Simon, like I was watching those on your TikTok, and I'm like, this is what's fascinating to me. And I'm gonna stop talking in a second, 'cause I realize my view. I don't hear it.

[00:08:17] Lindsay: But what's so fascinating is, in essence, what you're doing is. Creating a package as I did as a traditional reporter back in the day, whether you're doing news or sports for a local TV station, because the way you produce them and create your content is so great. Like it's so exactly what you would see on TV in the old version of the way people consume their content.

[00:08:59] Isabel: Yeah.

[00:09:03] Isabel: Yeah, it is funny, like especially early in my career, like having to explain to my dad, and like what I, you know, my dad is a journalist, and so like having to explain to him, I'm like, well, it's kind of like what you did, but like, it's different.

[00:09:36] Lindsay: Wow. Yes.

[00:09:53] And then eventually the dog gets adopted, and then that's like the season finale, and then two weeks later, another season starts. So I think the way, and I don't think I did this intentionally, but the way that I have now, like started to create content. It is very episodic, and it lends itself to TV really naturally, I think.

[00:10:22] Lindsay: It's Sex and the City with animals, like,

[00:10:33] Lindsay: Yeah.

[00:10:41] And for years, I've written, I want this book to be turned into a TV show. I want this book to be turned into a TV show, and write it down day after day, and that is what I wanted because I always had that vision in my head. I'm like, this book is so important to me. But I always liked to see it as something.

[00:11:09] Lindsay: So the book is The Bones. Really? Yeah, like the book is, okay. So with the book, the literary agent sends you that note. And then how did the rest fall into place in terms of what the book became, and a reminder

[00:11:29] Isabel: So she and I met for coffee, and I always say it was like, love it for sight. Like it's, you know, in your adult career, I feel like picking the people you work with is a lot like dating. You're like, did we vibe? Like, do we have the same vision of our future?

[00:11:57] Lindsay: Yes.

[00:12:10] situation that I go through, whether it's like a breakup or falling in love, is going to be then reflected in a story of my foster dogs, because I believe that caring for dogs like that love that you pour into dogs is so similar to a relationship in that it takes so much time and trust and you have to like really work at it and you have to.

[00:12:56] Like, you know what I mean? Yes. You spend so much time with these people and these dogs. So I wrote a memoir. And you know, about all of my breakups and all of the apartments that I lived in and my friendships. And then, I mirrored those situations and those experiences with kind of like perfect matches of situations that I went through with my foster dogs.

[00:13:44] I think that, you know, having an animal that you love and care for can be just as meaningful in a lot of ways.

[00:14:10] You know, that is the connector with the animals. I don't know, as my family says. They joke with me that my dog is my boyfriend. And so oftentimes they'll be like, " Oh, did you guys get engaged? And I like, Miles is two, and he is, he's just the best. He rides with us every morning to school.

[00:14:50] Isabel: I mean, yeah, I talk about that in the book, too.

[00:15:16] I'm like. It is him against the world and me. As we go on vacations together, we go on walks together. Yeah, we, he's just there. He's by my feet right now. It's like all of these moments, life passes you by and happens and happens, and he's there. And I think that is so beautiful. And like I think you have that deep connection and that deep trust because you have to communicate without words,s and it's like.

[00:16:02] Lindsay: Were there things that you realized or discovered from going through the process of writing the book?

[00:16:35] I was like, I know I came up with this concept, but like, so it was like things that I wouldn't even think of. Like, you know, I fell in love with my fiancé over COVID, via FaceTime, and it was over Christmas, and it was like we had not even met in person. And I mirrored that experience by fostering a dog over Christmas and his.

[00:17:16] Lindsay: So you mentioned your fiancé, you guys are getting married in September?

[00:17:32] Isabel: Oh, the Number one thing is patience. I'm historically not a very patient person. I am,

[00:17:47] Isabel: Well, I will say I've always had patience for animals, I should say. I have a patient person in. Relationships, and I'm, you know, I'm the youngest child. I'm the baby. I have two older brothers. I'm the only girl. So like, I think I, and I, just like, I'm from Jersey, like I'm, I am kind of loud and opinionated and like, and stubborn, and I'm a Taurus.

[00:18:44] Lindsay: Okay,

[00:19:05] You know, you're, you don't have much patience or like, you didn't say that very kindly or, you know, he would come to me with these things that I was like, oh, like I've never had somebody check me, check you. Yeah. Which is so necessary in a healthy relationship to be like, you know, a person being like, Hey, like, I didn't really like the way that you just spoke to me.

[00:19:47] Like, you know, it's of course it's always a work in progress, but I, you know, I think if you asked Jacob, like he would be like, oh, five years ago when we first started dating versus today, it is like. Night and day, like I think I have really changed for the better as far as communication, and you know, just being the best partner that I can be to him,

[00:20:11] It takes a special person, I think, to communicate that well without making the other person defensive. You know,

[00:20:36] We all need a Midwestern boy. Like that is the Yeah, the secret sauce.

[00:20:55] Isabel: Yeah. It was actually. It wasn't even before we got engaged; it was like three months after we met. I, you know, my dog Simon has a lot of health issues, and he's very expensive. And, I was, you know, paying all the bills on my own. And at that point, I was making no money. It was like three months after we met, and he sat me down and was just like, I would love to split these bills with you.

[00:21:40] Especially because it was. My dog. Like, my dog is the most important thing to me. So that just spoke to who he is as a person.

[00:21:58] Isabel: Yeah, a sleepaway camp.

[00:22:03] Yeah, just stand by. I know this is a slight detour in our conversation, but I just wanna hear about this 'cause I think it's awesome. What is your vision?

[00:22:22] It was the best, it was truly the best experience of my life. And, I think we both have the personality of like camp counselors. We're just like very, like, I don't know. It just makes sense to us, and we've always talked about it. I do not, I never wanted a traditional wedding. And we, you know, walked about like our perfect, what our perfect weekend would be, and.

[00:22:55] Lindsay: That is the coolest thing.

[00:23:05] So we rented the camp for three days. And it's just gonna be like a full, we're doing like a field day. We're doing a talent show. It's gonna be like a full adult summer camp. Yeah.

[00:23:19] Isabel: Oh, I think as the bride, I get to sit out, I get to just watch everything.

[00:23:27] Isabel: I don't really have, I don't know. I mean, I did like high school theater, but. I think I would rather just like sit and have people,

[00:23:43] Seriously. I'm not joking. Yeah, that would be really cool.

[00:23:58] Lindsay: I get that. I totally get that. Okay, wait, so real backing up, and I know I'm all over the place, but I just, this is so cool.

[00:24:11] Isabel: Yeah.

[00:24:15] Isabel: So I actually have. Fostered. I started fostering with MediPass years and years ago, like probably like eight years ago. I ended up adopting Simon. He was my fifth foster dog, and I stopped fostering for like four or five years because of his medical issues.

[00:24:54] So we, you know, started, that's kind of really when my partnership with Muddy Paws really took off. I got really close with a lot of their volunteers, a lot of their staff members, and I always say, especially with rescue. There are so many amazing organizations, but to find an organization that completely aligns with the way that you view animals, everybody has different opinions, right?

[00:25:46] Like, we just work together so well. One of my very close friends at this point is the foster program manager, so she's the one who matches me with all the dogs, and it's just this like, well-oiled machine that like, we have this beautiful partnership that like, obviously, my videos and my content.

[00:26:24] Lindsay: That is so cool. What, when you talk about those things that it's important to align on, what would you say are the most important things?

[00:26:41] Isabel: Yeah.

[00:26:44] Isabel: A lot of these are kind of like sticky topics that I think people in rescue don't.

[00:27:19] but what ends up usually happening is that person is a white couple in suburbia with a white picket fence in, you know, a rich area code. And you know, that is a great place for a dog to live. If every dog goes to one of those families, it's not quite fair. And you know, inherently people don't realize this, but you're being biased, and you're saying like this person who, this white family who lives in the suburbs.

[00:28:11] There are plenty of people who live in apartment buildings who are the best dog owners who take their dog for four-mile-long walks. Yeah. It's just this bias that we have about where the best place for a dog to go is. So what Medi Paw does is, of course, there are exceptions, like, for example, I had, you know, Tiki is my most viral dog.

[00:28:56] They work first come, first serve. So they go, it's not that anybody can just get any dog, but it's in order. So it's like if you are the first person to show interest, you will have a call with Muddy Paws. It'll be like, you kind of get priority, which

[00:29:11] Isabel: Then it helps the system as a whole in that, like, there's no bias of like.

[00:29:37] Like, but it becomes kind of this classist thing where it's like, well, we want the dog to go to the best home, but it's like, what is the best home? Like, who are we to say what the best home is?

[00:29:54] Isabel: Yes. So that is important to me

[00:30:18] Like, if you live in an apartment, you can't have a dog. If you live in a home but don't have a fenced-in backyard, you can't have the dog. Like, there are all these barriers to adoption when dogs are being killed in the shelter. Like, how does that make sense? It makes no sense.

[00:30:39] And it's like, you just know because you, to your point, you see them all the time out with their dogs and they're going to the park

[00:30:59] Now, not that I would want to, but like he gets five walks a day, and because we live in Whoa.

[00:31:06] Isabel: So like, but that's to the point of like, I believe that people who have dogs in apartments actually. Sometimes they are even better dog owners because they have to take their dog out. You know, there's no option of just letting them out in the yard.

[00:31:31] Lindsay: Yeah. And to that point, I was curious too, like what has been, because people love your content.

[00:31:56] Isabel: Yeah, I think, I think, well, there's been a couple, but most recently, in December, I had a foster dog named Zero. And he was very old. He was probably like 14. He was blind and deaf. And then when I got him, it became very clear that he was really suffering from a cognitive decline very rapidly.

[00:32:44] and most people were so supportive of it. Of course. I'm putting a dog down, so there will be some backlash from people saying, I didn't do the right thing, or I didn't give him enough time, or whatever the case may be. But, you know, the way that I handle that stuff is that I am working so closely with people whom I really trust and whose opinions are the most important to me.

[00:33:38] It is not a quality of life that any dog should have, so I felt very secure in that. Decision. But, yeah, that, I think that was probably a situation that I got. Not a lot, but I got some backlash on that. I was just kinda like, there's no winning in this situation. You know, if I kept him alive, I would be criticized,d and if I put him down, I would be criticized, and it's a lose-lose situation.

[00:34:32] Yeah. How do you navigate that?

[00:34:50] The more you do it, the easier it gets. And for me, the most rewarding part of it is seeing that dog with their new family. There is nothing like it.

[00:35:01] Isabel: I cannot describe like every foster that I've adopted, which is all of them. They're fa, it is like magic, like seeing their perfect family. And this is also a credit to Muddy Paws.

[00:35:39] Seeing those little girls with their new dog is just, I mean, there are no words for it, and that is what makes it worth it for me to witness a little girl getting her first dog. And that moment, as I remember so vividly, getting my first dog and that first dog has. Paved the way for my life. I know that these dogs will be that for these little girls, and that is so much bigger than me.

[00:36:23] Lindsay: That experience makes you wanna just do it again?

[00:36:32] Lindsay: I would say so. Yeah. Yes, noted.Agreed, okay, so also in the spirit of what you're talking about, just how these things have just sort of fallen in line. I loved how you found yourself in collaboration with Oscar de Lata.

[00:37:11] Isabel: So I was going on the Today Show, and I am not, I mean, no one can look at my page, and I'm not quite a fashionista. I spend most of my time in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, like with dogs. So, you know, I was looking for something to wear, and this is no shade to these brands, but I was at like Abercrombie and like Madewell and like, you know, I'm like,

[00:37:34] Isabel: Just looking for a cute dress to wear.

[00:37:48] Lindsay: Which probably gave you pause.

[00:37:51] Lindsay: Right. Okay.

[00:38:00] You email this email. And I was like, I sent it to my manager. I like. I don't know if this is real. Like, I don't know. So we email them, and it's real, and we, you know, we hop on a phone call, they're like, come in. At that point, I had a foster dog, Itsysyy. She was like this big bully mix who needed to get both of her ear canals removed.

[00:38:47] And just like truly a magical moment. I'm like, you know, trying on dresses. They like to hand me a phone. They're like. The CEO wants to talk to you. I'm like, what? So I talked to him. His name is Alex. He has like five rescue animals. He and his wife, Eliza, are obsessed with rescue animals and just like the kindest people ever, and it has just.

[00:39:26] Lindsay: In New York.

[00:39:36] Oh, and they are also to speak to their, how generous they are. I mean, that is so generous for them to throw a launch party.

[00:39:43] Isabel: They are sponsoring the first Muddy Paw Gala. that is at, which is in May. So they have now become partners of Muddy Paws through me. And so it's the Muddy Paws Gala presented by Oscar De La Renta?

[00:40:09] Isabel: That's in New York.

[00:40:11] Isabel: You should come.

[00:40:18] Isabel: I think so. I am not sure I'm not running the Muddy Paws Gala, but, ot it.

[00:40:27] Lindsay: That is so, I mean, that, that is so serendipitous and amazing. Congratulations. That's just,

[00:40:33] Lindsay: That's incredible.

[00:40:49] I think Oscar De La Renta and I. Yeah. But at the same time. We are so aligned, and it's just like, it's been the most natural, one of the most natural partnerships that I've had professionally, you know, or just like we have the same vision in mind. And you know, we were planning on doing, hopefully,l y like these rescue trips to different countries and helping in different ways.

[00:41:22] Lindsay: That's so insightful. What is your advice on, or what have you learned in that situation? I know it seems like yes. Listening to your organic self and these things, sort of, that holds the key.

[00:41:58] That you think is helpful for others, and maybe it's a thing no one tells you. Maybe it's not.

[00:42:32] I think, you know, I have met a lot of people in the content creation world who do not come across that way. I've met a lot of people in the content creation world who do come across that way, and the difference is stark. The people who are kind and really just so grateful for the opportunities that they get.

[00:43:20] You know, it's like I have been working with the farmer's dog for, I can't even tell you how long, like seven years. And it's just because, you know. Everybody wants to work with somebody nice, and that just gets you so far in, especially in this world of social media or TV or whatever the case may be.

[00:43:57] Lindsay: I can really relate to that, too. And like we were talking about in the beginning, just what you're doing is sort of the modern version of a certain type of journalism.

[00:44:28] It's like you can panic and fall into that box. Or you can just be your authentic self and be kind. And there's room for a piece of the pie for everybody, and everybody's story is different. I think it's true. I think about that sometimes in terms of being a woman in a sports department, you know?

[00:45:04] It's like there's also that, you know, pitfall, as I said. Anyway, I dunno if I'm making sense.

[00:45:22] And she always says, which I love. The best people to work with are like the kindest people, and those are the people she says, as she surrounds herself with people that she loves to work with.

[00:46:03] Lindsay: Right. And kind of going back to what you said initially, like it's not rocket science. It is the thing that I really like, yeah. Like maybe we could all just lean into what we actually love, like, you know, and just not. Right. And just letting it ride. Okay. I just thought of something. Have you communicated with the ex-boyfriends who are gonna find themselves in chapters in this book?

[00:46:58] So that's how I feel about it. Honestly, the first two, I wouldn't even know how to get in contact with them, so.

[00:47:06] Isabel: We'll see what happens, but, you know, everything's been changed. So all the names, obviously, are in all identifying details. So smart. If they take personal offense to it, that's on them.

[00:47:21] Lindsay: They're being a little sensitive if that's the case.

[00:47:24] Lindsay: Okay. So what is a thing that no one tells you that you've experienced along the way?

[00:47:46] And I feel like a lot of people like to chase the money or just chase success, but it's like truly rooting yourself in who you are and what you care about. Like that is going to make you the most money, and that is going to bring you the most success, like. What you actually care about. And like when people ask me how I blow up on TikTok, or like, how do I go viral?

[00:48:32] Obvious, I think, to a lot of people, whether they're conscious of it or not. And so, you know, I sometimes look at my own life, and I'm like. Why do people care so much? Like me, I'm just myself, and I'm like, I'm just like this, like a boring homebody who loves dogs. I don't think it's that interesting.

[00:49:02] Lindsay: Isn't that wild? Because it's just like, it probably feels so easy. Yeah, 'cause you're just doing the thing

[00:49:20] Like I'm just doing the thing that I love doing. I'm actually doing what I've been doing for, you know, many years, far before I ever documented it online. And, but I just started taking out my video and recording it, and I think that the craziest part is like, I've been doing this for so long, the only difference is that I just started making videos about it, and my entire life has changed. So yeah, it is very insane.

[00:49:52] Isabel: Yeah.

[00:50:08] Hoping for,

[00:50:43] And so I think, just like validating the human experience in different ways, I think it is important for me. And, I hope that this book does that. I think especially for young girls. To read a book where, you know, my entire twenties were super messy and there were a lot of ups and downs in learning ,and now I'm kind of like the other side.

[00:51:34] And I think just allowing people to feel that relationship, to feel the weight of that relationship and their own experiences is really important for me. So I know that was Woo's answer of like, no.

[00:51:53] Isabel: It's all about the bigger thing. But yeah, of course, I then have like other bigger dreams.

[00:52:18] And I, if I can be. A bright spot in somebody's day. That means the world to me.

[00:52:39] Because I realize I didn't ask you about that piece. Like you moved to New York. Yeah. You thought you were gonna be a writer.

[00:53:04] And then, like, especially as a woman in a professional career, especially a creative career, you use a lot of your time and energy pouring your brain into somebody else's dream. And yeah, I kind of think that, I always thought it was gonna pay off, and I put my whole heart into this job for close to a decade, and it didn't amount to anything.

[00:53:56] And that's when I started creating content for myself and creating, like, telling my own story. And it all happened within two to three years. So that just in and of itself speaks volumes, like I was. You know, in so many ways. For myself, I was the magic. Like I was the thing that, you know, I was pouring all of this brain power into something else when I could have been using it for my own journey,y and that's when it all clicked into place. So,

[00:54:34] Isabel: Right. Yeah,

[00:54:42] Isabel: Yeah.

[00:54:52] Isabel: Yeah.

[00:54:56] Isabel: Yeah. It's interesting, I just thought of this now that we're having this conversation, but my dad always said, and not even in this context, just like, I think he actually said it in the context of like a really good song.

[00:55:11] Lindsay: Yeah.

[00:55:31] The secret to success is really quite simple. The best ideas, the ones that are gonna take off, are really simple. And, you know, so many people could look at anything and say, well, I could have done that. But you didn't. And so the people who are

[00:55:44] Isabel: Moving up in life and progressing are the ones who actually took the risk and did it and put themselves out there.

[00:56:00] Lindsay: I mean, man, look at the things that's, it's just wild. The things that have sort of come, right, come to you. But that's all, it's so good. Isabelle, you're the best.

[00:56:37] I love how she just talked about kindness and the simplicity of the thing that you love, and I think we could all use a lot more of that. So I did wanna make sure to mention, because this is so cool,l that in the past year, Isabella has raised more than $750,000 for animal welfare. But when you think about the things that she discussed, like.

[00:57:21] As always, we say one of the best ways to support things no one tells you is to share an episode with a friend. So for Ashley, Sarah, Sam, Sean, and the rest of the team, thank you so much for watching and listening, and we will see you here next week. Thanks so much for joining me. I can't wait to see you back here next week.

[00:57:54] See you next time.