Pet-Anon....most definitely. My co-dependent, people-pleasing beagle-spaniel-pug mix would benefit greatly from Pet-Anon.....Had an Al-Anon member in my group who actually mentioned Al-a-Mutt because the A's in our life had AA, we had Al-Anon and kids had Al-A Teen, so our animals should have their own support group.....Heck, my boy knew the Serenity Prayer and 12 Steps by heart as I recited them.....
After reading some of the posts here, you can see just how our furry kids are affected by the disease. My boy KNEW long before me when the EX was about to relapse - he would cling to me, not let me out of his sight and when the fighting started, he would cringe next to me, alternately scared but trying to protect me-his mummy. The ex threatened him a couple of times and while he never struck him, I could see it in his eyes and I did not trust him with my boy for a very long time.
I adopted him from the ASPCA when he was 6 months old - he had previous issues, when he came to me, I wasn't in the best living situation (pre ABF), so he never really had a chance to get off of the merry go round.
Now that things have settled down and we are in a semblance of a routine, he is a lot calmer, but still sticks to me like glue. I make sure we have our walks, our play, our cuddle time and at 3+ years old, he is beginning to settle down. Now, if only I could work on his cat issues!
