Her sweet photos WW POWER OF LOVE their furever homes

With so many dogs and cats in the local shelter up for adoption, 20-year-old Maggie Epling felt a nudge to make a difference. So the amateur photographer volunteered to take adorable profile photos of the animals to post online—an idea that touched hearts, leading to dozens of perfect matches and wagging tails!

Maggie Epling has always been close to her grandparents, so when, last April, her grandfather underwent open-heart surgery, the 20-year-old University of Kentucky student decided to spend the summer helping to care for him.

She pitched in wherever needed, doing housework and taking her grandfather to medical appointments. But that still left her with free time. She had originally planned on getting a job or an internship during her break, and she longed to do something just as productive…something to make a difference.

Maggie had two passions: animals and photography. In fact, it was her grandfather who’d given Maggie her first camera when she was 10 years old. These days, one of her favorite subjects to photograph was her beagle, Wally, a stray her family rescued in 2016. Suddenly, Maggie got an idea. Her grandparents lived in Kentucky’s rural Pike County. The local animal shelter didn’t get much foot traffic, so it was always filled to capacity. What if I take portraits of the animals to post online to try to up the number of adoptions? she wondered.

Picture-perfect

With a spark of excitement, Maggie contacted the shelter. “My goal is to present the dog or cat in a light that will help people see them as the pet they will actually be bringing home,” Maggie explained to the workers. And the workers quickly embraced Maggie’s vision. The first dog Maggie photographed was a little white terrier. The sweet thing was so timid, which made it difficult for potential adopters to bond with her when visiting the shelter. But after some playtime with Maggie in the shelter’s courtyard, she relaxed.