Lisa Desatnik
Melinda’s PetCakes Bring Out Joy In Pets…And People
If you have ever met Melinda Kirk Stenger, you know, she is someone you don’t soon forget. Her costume of a polka dot apron alone makes you smile head to toe but it is her heart, her zest for life, and her passion that touch you, brighten your day, and make you want to spend more time with her.
Melinda and I met over coffee about a month ago. As she began showing me some of her newest creations (yummy recipes made with her PetCakes brand that she is testing for her next adventure, a high end culinary canine cookbook) and talking about what she does, and why, she had a distinct sparkle in her eyes. Her words came easily as she shared her story, her dreams.
(By the way, she gave me samples of those recipes for my Dawson to try. He loved them!)
Beyond being one of the most genuine people, her business sense is rivaled by her creativity. When those strengths are driven by a deep sense of purpose, of course incredible achievements happen.
Melinda’s PetCakes are the first and ONLY organic, microwavable pet treats that you make at in home in just minutes. The packaging is designed in bright, whimsical colors and fonts with an adorable caricature of one of her dogs. Baking the cakes is made easy as it comes with a re-usable mold and mixes. All you do is add water and literally bake for just a couple minutes. If you keep the mold, you use it again with another flavor of Melinda’s mixes.
I know this first hand because I helped Melinda last month with one of her monthly visits to the Ronald McDonald House where she organizes a PetCakes-making activity for the children staying there. Mixing, baking and decorating the bone shaped cakes to be given to therapy dogs at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is one of their favorite things to do. The kids even wrote a personal note that Melinda will be giving to each dog gift recipient. “Hope you like extra frosting cuz I know I do. By the way, it smells so good. You are lucky doggys,” wrote one little girl.
This is the kind of sentiment Melinda sees a lot – from children and adults. It’s why she believes so much in her business. “When I watch kids pull their parents’ arms over to me, and I see how happy they are decorating their cakes, knowing they are making something healthy for their dog, I know I am doing the right thing,” she said. “For me, cooking is how I express love. When I see the joy it brings people and their dogs, it makes my whole day.”
The Road To Success
If you had asked Melinda years ago if this would be her life’s mission, no way would she have predicted this. In fact, she had been deathly afraid of dogs most of her life since being bitten by a dog as a child. It was only after meeting two Weimaraner puppies, Roxy and Zeke, that she came to understand the beautiful gift they offered – sharing Melinda’s life for 10 years. Roxy was Melinda’s soulmate, seeming to know what Melinda was thinking even before she did.
It was Melinda’s current rescue, Bella and her skin issues and allergies, that inspired cooking creations as a means for having healthy homemade treats minus wheat, corn, soy or preservatives.
When Melinda launched PetCakes in 2010 at the largest pet industry trade show, she was a complete unknown. “As fun as it is to create something unique, it was an uphill battle because I had to educate people. That was really difficult and no one wants to take a chance without a previous track record of sales,” she told me.
Still, despite that, PetCakes won ‘Best New Product of the Year’ at that show. During those first two years, she secured three design patents on three different pans, created five different recipes that became five different formulas, sold 25,000 unites in seven minutes on QVC, and exported to China. She now has over 30 different products and sells 1000s a month on Amazon.com and Chewy.com.
To anyone who else who has a dream, just as she does, Melinda has this advice, “NEVER give up and follow the 3 P Rule of Passion, Persistence, and Partnerships. You must love what you do and do what you love, and embrace the support from others.”
It is advice that has served her well.
Kindness Was Their Life Preserver
What does kindness mean to you, and how has it impacted your life? I asked that question of Kelli Kurtz, executive director of institutional 
advancement at Stephen T. Badin High School (a high school of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati). Her answer reminds us that those random acts of kindness – people who, without need or want of anything in return go out of their way to reach out a hand to lift you up, just when you need it, have far reaching impact.
In her own words…
“Kindness has certainly touched my life in ways I never imagined. Our family has been blinded by some extremely challenging times these past 3 years, and it nearly sucked the wind right out of us. The countless and unexpected acts of kindness shown to our family were like being thrown a life preserver until we could touch bottom again.
When our youngest son was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 12, we were blessed with Meal Trains, gift cards, hospital blessing boxes, edible arrangements, donations of hotel points and gas cards (since we were traveling to Chicago for his care.) But one unexpected and unbelievably kind act stands out from all the rest this past year, when we suddenly lost our beloved 11-year-old labradoodle to cancer. Thanks to social media, our friends and family knew of this devastating diagnosis and tremendous loss. (As you can imagine, Rudy had served as our family’s permanent life raft during this tumultuous and painful time.)
A week after Rudy passed, I received a letter from Waussau, Wisconsin–the home of my college roommate and her family. Her sweet mom followed me on Facebook, and knew of our loss. She was also keenly aware of the rough seas we had been navigating for some time.
She sent a beautiful card, with a check for $100 with this inscription: “Nothing is more important than family. Honor Rudy’s memory by spending time together, comforting and loving one another through your pain. I hope this helps.”
I will never forget her touching tribute to Rudy and our family. In the fog of our loss, I don’t even remember exactly what we did, but what I do remember is how we felt–loved. And whole for the first time in a long time.
~Kelli Kurtz
Shay Has A Heart For Animal Underdogs
Shay Baysore, volunteer social media coordinator for My Furry Valentine, will tell you, she has always been drawn to the underdog, those human and non-human animals who are often overlooked, stigmatized, and expected to fail. She has always believed in their capacity to give, receive, contribute and achieve.
“A soul is a soul,” she told me.
And every soul is deserving of love.
That has been Shay’s lifelong passion, ingrained in her as a young child from her father, her role model. A big man with an intimidating presence, he had soft spot when it came to animals. Some of Shay’s earliest memories are of their taking in strays including any injured animal walking by like a three-legged raccoon and abandoned bunny babies.
These days Shay and her husband share their home with five dogs and three cats – all of whom are either seniors or have some sort of difference/disability. Among them are Embry, adopted from My Furry Valentine, who has had to have surgery to narrow her eyelids and has chronic dry eye; Lyo, their Pug who has partial back leg paralysis; and Kylo (pictured with Shay), their puppy mill rescue who is missing a jaw.
With so many pets and so many different issues that require time, patience, and love; being a non-human mom could almost be Shay’s full time job…but it isn’t. She has a busy career as director of digital marketing for Lasik Plus; and donates over 10 hours of her time each week to attract people to My Furry Valentine through social media. She even finds extra time to give to the Clermont Animal Care Humane Society.
If you will be one of the hundreds of people who attend this year’s mega adoption event, you may see Shay and her husband with cameras and their phones, capturing moments for Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Before the doors open, Shay also spends a lot of time reading and getting to know animal tags. Then, as she is talking to attendees, she can help match them with their forever new companion.
“I am always tired when My Furry Valentine is over, but it is SO worth it,” Shay said.
About My Furry Valentine:
Where: Sharonville Convention Center
When:
Saturday, February 9th 2019
Early Bird* Hours: 10:00am-Noon
General Admission Hours: 12:00pm-6:00pm
Sunday, February 10th 2019
General Admission Hours: 12:00pm-6:00pm
Main Event Admission:
General Admission Tickets $5 (Children under 5 are free)
*Early Bird Tickets $25 (Children 5 and older only $5 with paying adult)
For more detailed information on My Furry Valentine, including participating dog and cat rescue organization and pets up for adoption, please visit their website.
#Kindflash in Cincinnati Collecting Clothes
Since 2015, local volunteers have developed a January tradition – that of collecting and distributing warm clothing items (hats, gloves, scarves and socks) across dozens of Greater Cincinnati neighborhoods. This year, the group #Kindflash enters its fifth year of distributing thousands of items across 60+ Greater Cincinnati neighborhoods. Collection will take place at dozens of local businesses and other venues through Jan 17, and then volunteers will bag and distribute the packages throughout the city over the weekend of Jan 18-20. Last year, they distributed 6,870 items 
throughout 60 Greater Cincinnati neighborhoods.
They have also initiated something new: year-round partnerships with select small businesses that will, in addition to participating in the drives, also host #Kindcash “pay it forward” gift certificates. These cards allow patrons to purchase an item or a service for a future customer as a random act of kindness. The cards are then displayed at the counter for anyone to redeem.
What started as a Facebook group for a few friends to share inspirational stories and community needs has blossomed into a group with 1800 members, who perform a monthly community outreach project called #Kindflash (like a flash mob of kind acts).
Their first large-scale event was in February 2015, when within 10 days, more than 100 volunteers gathered and distributed 2000+ warm clothing items (hats, gloves, scarves, socks, etc.) throughout 35 Greater Cincinnati neighborhoods. The momentum from this was so great, that volunteers have continued to perform a community outreach #Kindflash project every month, and the citywide clothes drive has become an annual event. The monthly events change constantly in theme and neighborhoods served, and are grassroots, non-denominational, non-political, family-friendly, all ages, and open to everyone. They are designed to be simple, replicable, and require little or no money in order to participate.
Liz Wu, organizer of the event and the group, welcomes everyone, of any age or background, to get involved. “There are so many ways to spread kindness. It can be as quick as a smile, as easy as passing on an item that you no longer use, and as simple as spending quality time with someone and listening to their story. We welcome anyone and everyone to join us!.”
For more information, visit: #Kindflash on Facebook.
You can also email: kindflash@gmail.com or call: 513-580-8289.
Why Teaching Kindness To Their Kids Matters
“It’s hard to explain to kids that it’s a blessing in life to be able to give to others.” These were the first words shared by Pet Wants co-owner/founder Michele Hobbs (with her wife Amanda Broughton) when she posted about her beautiful family participating in a group that gives to Cincinnati’s homeless.
Instead of just explaining, Michele and Amanda teach their beautiful young children the importance of generosity and kindness through action. On that day, at the invitation of Larry Bergman, they bought bulk food from the Restaurant Depot and delivered it to the Drop Inn Center aka The Shelterhouse.
“Giving my kids a happy childhood and life is my first priority, but not far from that priority is for them to understand just how fortunate we are. I do not want them to experience homelessness or poverty, but I want them to know it exists and that they have a responsibility to help others who are experiencing pain of any sort. They are beginning to see that helping others is one of their privileges. And Privilege is a theme I will remind them of as long as I’m alive,” Michele told me.
Having known Michele for many years, none of this surprises me. She is a woman of immense integrity, who has shown kindness to me in so many ways. She works tireless hours making their Pet Wants and soon their Knox Joseph Distillery and OTR Stillhouse, a huge success, affording them the opportunity for quality family time and for giving back to their community.
I wanted to know more about where this drive and passion comes from so I asked Michele to share her story, one you may not know about this Cincinnati change maker.
Early Lessons
By their 25th birthdays, Michele’s mom and dad were already parents to four children. Her father left when she was young, and their landlord tried to evict them…unsuccessfully, at first anyway. Then one night, Michele remembers her mom taking her and her little brother on a train from Morristown to the Cincinnati Terminal.
“I remember that train ride, it was dark and there were no lights in the box car. We were in the last car before the caboose. It had wooden benches. There were doors on the side just like you see in the movies and this is where all the poor people were. Mommy had packed us a sandwich in a brown bag. I remember getting my sandwich out and I saw this really old man in the very back. There were no rules about kids walking around this dirty old train car. I walked back and gave the old man my sandwich. I don’t know why.
I do not how my mom found my dad, but I do know we got our car and went back to Tennessee. I don’t know who had my other brother and sister, but I know the house had been packed and all of our stuff was in the front room when we got back. We were getting thrown out and were homeless. My mom somehow pulled it together. Daddy showed up with a Uhaul that very day (by this time our phone had been shut off, so I have no idea how she got him there). We packed up our car and that truck and I remember the landlord standing in the yard and clapping as we left. This is how I landed in Cincinnati.
It is my prayer that my kids will never experience that, nor how tough things would be for my dad for essentially the rest of his life. All he ever did was work…just to keep his family housed, fed and clothed,” Michele told me.
And THAT is why teaching her kids the important lesson that giving back is a privilege is a top priority.
“What will they do with their Privilege? That is a question that is with me every single day as I navigate this world and try to understand the why.
They talk about not wasting food because there are others who are hungry. They ask to go the the homeless camps, (which are now gone) and they don’t understand why I don’t give money to the guys on the corner, both of those concerns are difficult to explain, but I do my best.
Amanda and I are good parents, there are many parents I know who do much more with their kids as far as helping others, but I think we are doing good with them for now and we will continue to try and do more,” Michele said.
How YOU Can Help
Amanda and Michele are organizing a Valentine’s Day Food Drop at the Anna Louise Inn, and are looking for volunteers to help. If you’d like to participate, please email Michele at Michele@PetWantsCincy.com.
