Veterinarians In Recovery - VIR

... a site for veterinarians working the Alcoholics Anonymous program or other 12 step programs such as NA, etc.  

VIR is an OPEN site and like an open meeting what you say here may leave here ... 

Visitors who are not working a recovery program please understand anonymity is the spiritual foundation of a successful program and while you are encouraged to share the this sits location with veterinarians you know to be in recovery, we ask you to not divulge personal information you may find on this Internet site. 

About VIR:  I am a veterinarian working the AA steps.  It has not been hard to find AA meetings while attending CE conferences, but many are difficult to navigate street directions or inconvenient to attend without severely compromising attendance at the CE function.   It is hoped this Internet site can help overcome these difficulties.  As a side benefit, it is hoped veterinarians in recovery will find each other at meetings and become colleagues in recovery as well as in veterinary medicine ... "two can make a meeting".    " I am responsible . . . When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that: I am responsible.   … to place our common welfare first;  ... For on A.A. unity depend our lives, And the lives of those to come."  Copyright © Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc

There are no dues, fees or donations required or requested for using this site ...

The site has two main functions: 

These functions will be accomplished by:

MAJOR Veterinary CE Meeting List and AA contact information:

CE Name Meeting Link LocEachYr Month City 2006 or 7 AA 24-7 Hotline AA Meeting Links
AAVLD http://www.aavld.org Varies October Minneapolis St Paul 651-227-5502 http://www.aastpaul.org/
AABP http://www.aabp.org/ Varies September Minneapolis St Paul 651-227-5502 http://www.aastpaul.org/
AAEP http://www.aaep.org/ Varies March San Antonio 210-828-6235 http://www.aasanantonio.org/
AAHA http://www.aahanet.org/ Varies December Denver 303-322-4440 http://www.daccaa.org/
AASV http://www.aasv.org Varies March Orlando 407-260-5408 http://www.aaorlandointergroup.org/
ACVC http://www.acvc.org/  Same October Atlantic City 609-486-4444 none found
AVC http://avc-beef.org Varies Apr,Aug,Dec Dec in Denver 303-322-4440 http://www.daccaa.org/
AVMA http://avmaconvention.org/ Varies July Washington DC 301-662-0544 http://www.aa-dc.org/
CVC http://www.cvccentral.com/ Same August Kansas City 816-471-7229  http://www.kc-aa.org/
NAVC http://www.tnavc.org Same January Orlando 407-260-5408 http://www.aaorlandointergroup.org/
SWVS http://www.swvs.org/ Same September Fort Worth 817-332-3533 http://www.fortworthaa.org/
WVC http://www.wvc.org/ Same February Las Vegas 702-598-1888  http://www.lvcentraloffice.org/
WWC http://www.wildwestvc.com Same October Reno 775-355-1151 http://www.aanorthernnevada.org/

The site is under construction and not all of the above functions are currently available ...

Links:

  Audio Sources:

  Shared Documents:

Useful passages ...

 ... How it works:
Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.
Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it —then you are ready to take certain steps.
At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.
Remember that we deal with alcohol- cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power- that one is God. May you find Him Now!
Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.
Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery:
 1:  We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
 2:  Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
 3:  Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
 4:  Made a searching and fearless and thorough moral inventory of ourselves.
 5:  Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs.
 6:  Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
 7:  Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
 8:  Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
 9:  Made direct amends to such people, wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all or affairs.
Many of us exclaimed, "What an order I can't go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.
Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought.

 … the principles of AA promises?
    If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through.
    We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.
    We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
    We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.
    No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.
    That feeling of uselessness and self pity will disappear.
    We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.
    Self-seeking will slip away.
    Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
    Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.
    We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
    We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.
    Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.  2nd, 3rd, and 4th edition Big Book page 83 & 84