Nancy East has called Waynesville home since 1997, when she moved to the area as a newly graduated small animal veterinarian from Auburn University. For many years, she practiced full-time at Animal Hospital of Waynesville, but she shifted her focus to regional relief work while raising her three children.

 

Maple Tree Veterinary Hospital eventually stole her heart, and she practiced there exclusively until she retired in 2020 to pursue a career that took her outdoors more. Nancy is an avid hiker and a member of Haywood County’s Search and Rescue (SAR) team.

 

She is the author of Chasing the Smokies Moon: An audacious 948-mile hike–fueled by love, loss, laughter, and lunacy, inspired by her involvement with SAR and the search for a missing mother in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She is also an outdoor educator and speaker.

 

Nancy lives in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina with her husband, three children, and their beloved rescue dog, Ivy. She is incredibly passionate about her involvement with Sarge’s, as she remembers a time in Haywood County when not nearly as many animal rescue groups existed to save the lives of so many wonderful and worthy animals.