NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — When she was dealing with one of the greatest challenges of her life, a woman was left with a question. What would happen to a constant companion during the time she needed to get better? That woman hopes sharing her story can help others in similar situations.
"I was going to see if she'll roll over for us!" Blair Bandy said, sitting with her basset hound Maeve. "C'mon. You wanna roll?"
"So, you can actually tell her to roll over, and she'll do it?" I asked Bandy.
"No," she laughed.
Maeve's not really into doing tricks.
"I'll let her roam," Bandy said, watching Maeve stroll through a dog park.
Roam. Yeah, she'll do some of that.
"Maeve is super stubborn!" Bandy said.
Well, we all have our convictions. Something Maeve does very well is be protective of her person, Bandy.
"Maeve came to me in 2019, one of the best years of my life, and 2019 was also one of the hardest years of my life," Bandy said. "I was diagnosed with a pretty life threatening eating disorder."
Bandy said she was constantly running and putting far too much focus on calorie counting.
"I tried to log the calories of a chapstick," Bandy said. "Something as simple as that can be an obsession."
Bandy came to realize she needed to take part in three months of inpatient treatment, but that came with a new worry. Three months. What about Maeve?
"Maeve is such a huge part of my life, I wanted to make sure she was comfortable," Bandy said.
That's when Bandy found a middle Tennessee non-profit called Pawster. They offer temporary foster care for animals whose pet owners are in crisis. That includes hospitalization, housing loss, domestic violence, incarceration, natural disasters, and treatments like what Bandy was taking part in. Donations to Pawster go toward things including pet supplies, vet visits, and grooming.
"Pawster was able to match me up with a foster for Maeve's needs, which was huge," Bandy said.
After the months of her treatment came the day Bandy was reunited with Maeve. Since that day, Bandy has been open to sharing her story. Part of that is encouraging people to seek treatment for eating disorders if they're seeing warning signs. Also part of that is to tell people about the Pawster non-profit that helped her with Maeve, so she could just focus on getting better.
"When you get back from something like that, you're just kickstarting your recovery journey from a mental health condition," Bandy said. "For them to take that worry from me, is amazing."
I had one more question. Is there a story with the name Maeve?
"I think it means queen," Bandy smiled.
Roam on, Maeve.
For more on Pawster, visit here.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
It's migratory season for billions of animals across the United States. That means millions of birds and butterflies will take a rest stop in Tennessee and Kentucky as they move south for winter. Tennessee state parks are working to create vital habitat for the migrating monarchs. You may be able to follow their lead around your home to help reverse a declining monarch population.
- Lelan Statom
