Pursuing Passion w/ Kelsey Straus

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How Kelsey Straus Became Inspired By Her Dogs To Follow Her Passion

Kelsey Straus

About The Episode

Kelsey Straus grew up in the Bay Area. She had a Swiss Mountain dog as a child through middle school. And then she had two breeder keepers (guide dogs for the blind), who are now retired and family dogs that still live with her parents. Kelsey herself now has lived with her husband in the Pacific Northwest for a little over a year, just a little outside of Portland. They currently have two dogs of their own, Ava and Aspen.

Ava is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi who turned a year in November. She’s got spunk, along with the typical corgi attitude, but also a lovebug. Aspen is a golden rescued from China, found in a cardboard box on the side of the highway. They’ve had him only a few months now (six weeks at the time of this interview) and he’s not even a year old yet.

They’ve made hiking part of both Ava and Aspen’s life and always explore the beautiful mountains and nature of the Pacific Northwest. Kelsey teaches yoga and her husband, Jake, works from home, so they’re able to be around the dogs often.

But a big part of how Ava, and now Aspen, are helping Kelsey, is also by encouraging and motivating her to follow her craft and passion of photography. She had dabbled in it before but after Ava, she got a new camera and become more and more interested in learning and practicing to be better at it. Fast forward to now and Kelsey has a side business doing family portrait shoots of people and one day hopes to do wedding photography in the future.

About The Guest

Kelsey Straus is a certified yoga instructor with several other side hustles – including photography and wedding planning – who lives with her husband in Vancouver, Washington, just north of Portland. Their corgi, Ava, is just over a year old. Aspen, their golden, is still under a year old. She also has a popular Instagram account with thousands of followers where she frequently posts photos of hikes with both dogs.

Featured Links

InterviewJack SommerArt / Creativity