Cheryl Burke has credited her dog Ysabella with keeping her sober during her addiction battle.
The “Dancing with the Stars” pro gave up alcohol four years ago and has admitted that her beloved bulldog helped to keep her on the wagon as she battled temptation during difficult times after her split from husband Matthew Lawrence – who she is now fighting for custody of the pooch.
In a post on Instagram, the 38-year-old dancer wrote: “The belief in a power greater than myself consistently helps me to stay the course when things get hard, and I have to give credit to my dog, Ysabella, for keeping me going a lot of the time. Yep, I'm a full-blown ‘dog mom’ and not ashamed to say it!”
Burke went on to reveal that whenever she was feeling down, she would make herself feel better by taking Ysabella for a walk.
She added: “Going through a public divorce, there have been days where I wanted to just stay in bed and hide, and the idea of numbing my emotions with a vodka soda can sound pretty appealing.
“But Ysabella has tons of energy and gets me outside to go for walks multiple times a day. She loves me to play with her, and I honestly can't imagine life without her by my side 24/7.”
Burke has finalised her divorce from “Boy Meets World” actor Lawrence but they are still battling over custody of Ysabella and the dancer admitted she's prepared to take the issue to court.
She previously told ETOnline.com: “It's still not over because we have to maybe go to trial – well, we are going to go to trial, unless (Lawrence) all of the sudden calls it off. That will happen in January. I'm still just really hurt by the whole situation. That's my dog. Ysabella is my daughter; I'm a dog mom, and that's it. I couldn't even imagine my life – I mean, I could just cry right now. But I couldn't imagine my life without her.”