Either a dog or a cat would likely make a better supportive partner than a drunk. Except that in most cases they're not potty trained... Except that probably is not a strong argument given the frequency of posts describing alcoholic husbands who urinate in bed, in dressers, closets, and floors and have major poop blowouts in their pants, sheets, and across the dining room floor.
Oh wait, but we were talking about sober spouses needing to support alcoholic spouses weren't we?