NEIHS board member Melanie Jencks holds her cat, Sasha, by a Santa Paws giving tree at the Hawkeye Public Library. Residents that wish to make a donation to the NEIHS can simply pick an ornament off the giving tree and buy the suggested product. They can then take it to one of five giving tree locations in Fayette County.
Jencks Fayette Co. rep on HSNEI board
By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com
Go ahead, call her a crazy cat lady. What most people take as an insult, West Union native Melanie Jencks sees as a compliment.
“I am the crazy cat lady in this area; it didn’t used to be that way, but it is a title I will take and accept,” Jencks said.
A board member for the Humane Society of Northeast Iowa (HSNEI), Jencks is an animal lover through and through. As far back as the 54-year-old can remember pets have been a large part of her life.