Losing a pet is hard, and kiss and grief can be huge stress. Losing a family member like a parent, sibling, or child would be devastating as well, and agree with newly flexing sober muscles would be difficult to get through without a knee jerk thought that drinking would solve the pain of loss.
AA is run by humans, and they can be jerks. I tried Al Anon and was utterly humiliated after two horrible meetings, so I’m not into that program for a tool.
If it’s uncomfortable after a certain period, consider different support tools maybe?
LHW, please post something. Anything. No explanations needed.
Viking, you ok?