Be strong. You are probably some that in shock, You made a big move to protect yourself. Try to stay calm and block any negative thoughts. Trust your intuition. Develop a plan if/when he contacts you. My thoughts are with you.

The verbal and emotional abuse can turn violent. You trusted yourself by taking the pets and running--thank goodness.
Please do NOT let him know where you are. I would say if at all possible talk to a lawyer.
You need no contact with him. If somehow you find out he says it's OK to get your stuff-----do NOT go alone, your life is more important than anything else.
I wish you the best.

Definately start talking to lawyers, to get an understanding of the rules of divorce in your state. Most do a free 1 hour in person visit or over the phone consultation. Divorce can be complex or straightforward, depending upon your situation and whether you're in a 50/50 state or an equitable distribution state. These terms refer to the splitting of assets. You probably have all kinds of records back home, you'll need copies of these things. Go online and start doing google searches, write down all the questions you have, this can be the basis for conversations with lawyers. Talk to you mom, if you can, and other people you know and trust. Breathe. Know you did the right thing to protect yourself. As far as pet custody, that's not a legal thing in the same regard that child custody is, but it would be included in the splitting of assets. I've heard of people who share custody (informally) but to me that's rough on the animals. If you're their main caretaker (walks, feeding, scooping, vet visits) then you should probably have them. The other way around if he did those things with them.

It's probably safe to say that he knows you went to your mom's, especially if you two are close. Don't be freaked out by this, but just have an understanding.

I hope you can go into therapy or support groups.

Womens shelter/ womens aid often have support
Groups and many other services available too. Start
Trying to help yourself heal while you are no contact
And away from him. Clarity comes the more detached
You are from the situation, HUGS

I am sorry that you are going through this, You did the right thing by leaving and of course he is upset and sad because not only did you leave but you did not come back when I am sure he gave you a few threats and or his sad story with the words sorry and wont happen again. The best thing you can do is start therapy or find a group to meet with that are going through the same thing that you are. Talk to an attorney and get a job to stand on your own two feet. Cut off all contact with him no phone not text no e mail.. nothing. If he comes to your mothers call the police and the police will tell you what steps you need to take to keep him away. You will have your bad days where you may feel it is easier to give up and give in but don't do it, Fight that feeling and remember what he has done to you. You have a bright future ahead of you and he needs to get help for himself. If you want to save the marriage then I suggest you still stay with your mom and you still get a job and you still talk to an attorney and remember therapy or groups. You set the rules now and if he wants the marriage he has to seek help and start a program and finish it for abusers like him and until he does that then you want nothing to do with him, The only person you will talk to about how he is doing is his Doctor but until then you stay with your mom. This is a sign for you to read this time and change it because the next time you may not be able to run and get away. Your be just fine don't you worry you are very brave and that takes a lot of courage to do what you did. Good for you.

You need to let the dust settle. Get your breath, think about what you want to happen next.

My husband was verbally and emotionally abusive for many years, and at times he was physically abusive. The last time he shoved me I landed on the floor with my head inches from a cast iron stove. I knew he could kill me. It was one of the things that caused me to make up my mind to leave. Divorce court is strange: It turned out the judge considered the abuse, including the physical abuse, to be irrelevant. It was clear he didn't believe me. See, in life, my husband had a long-standing reputation among family, friends, and even people he worked with, as a guy with a huge ego and who was ready to fight with his fists with another man, at the drop of a hat. His best friend had to talk him out of a fistfight with another fellow quite literally on the side of a highway once! But my husband put on a big show in divorce court of staring at the floor, being a very meek, sounding sad and sincere.

He acted like he never had anything but my best interests at heart and that he had actually been cheated on. (I actually didn't even have a first date until we'd been separated 2 years, while his first was the week I left. My husband's friends over the years often had to remind him he was married, because he had a rep of flirting with just about any female he found attractive, to the point of coming across like he was available. It was a huge problem in the marriage. And women responded. Of course, he never let the judge see this side of himself.)

If this starts looking for divorce, don't take anything for granted. Divorce court is ugly. Everyone I knew kept telling me I had nothing to worry about because we live in a 50/50 state. BALONEY! They were so wrong. 50/50 means you get 50 percent of what he, his attorney(s), you, your attorney(s), and the judge all decide is the value of everything you have together. The judge has a lot of power. Here's an example: If you say your husband's vehicle that he drives daily is worth $10,000 and your husband says it's worth $2,000, and you have a judge with a rep for siding with the husbands, or who feels bad for your husband and buys his 'poor me' stories, the judge may even say, aw, poor guy, I think he's wrong, I think his truck is worth $1000. Well, now YOU get $500 for the $10,000 vehicle he's driving. See how that works? It happened to me, I know what I'm talking about.

I left my marriage in fear and with only enough money to pay for an apartment for two months, while my husband took our bank accounts and was living on our place, and he hired a law firm. When I filed a document asking the judge to please let me have enough money from our accounts to at least put a retainer on an attorney, he said 'no', and left me to represent myself. I was making $9 an hour at the time while my husband continued to make $52 an hour doing consulting work talking on the phone. A friend's father felt so bad for me that he sent me $200 so I could try to hire an attorney.

I came away in the divorce with about 18% of our estate and no support or retirement, after 25 years of marriage and a business we built together. In our so-called '50/50' state, I make $13 an hour, live 20 miles from my job in the only rental I can afford, my vehicle is 23 years old and falling apart, literally, and I can never retire. My husband did pretty good in our '50/50' state, though. He makes between $52-$150 an hour, lives on what was our 5 acres in the country, in our home, with all our business equipment and what was our bank accounts, and drives a new pickup truck.

Arm yourself with knowledge. And get pissed off, because sometimes there's power in anger. There is no power in tears and confusion.

If you think you want a divorce, the better informed you are, the better you will fare for quite simply the rest of your life.

Wishing you the best. But first, get your thoughts clear. Talk with family and friends who aren't emotional, who are instead practical and intelligent and cool-headed. Become an expert on divorce and on how the courts really work, not on how others assume they work.

I really don't know your situation in detail, but I give everyone who talks divorce, a little about my experience because I hate the thought that another woman would trust her husband to do the right thing...and end up in as tough a situation as I've experienced now for many years, while he lives pretty damned good. Protect yourself.

Maybe divorce isn't the answer in your case. Maybe you two need counseling. But please be wary. I missed 'me', too, I missed being happy. For a very long time. I lost sight of the strong person that I was born to be, the happy person that I was born to be. I have spent the years since my divorce, finding my strengths again, and I like who I really am without his foot on my back, and so do my friends and family!

Wow, what JennaRose said is very powerful.

I can add, although not divorced yet, that my attorney said it's best to NOT go all the way to court. If you do, things like the car reevaluation mentioned above can occur. The judge will never know the detail of your lives together, or the financial picture, and unless you file reports with the police, and have bruises or broken body parts to substantiate it, the abuse is not verifable. Judges just don't have the time to sit and learn the case. They will often sympathize with one side, and you never know whose side it will be. My lawyer (and stbx's) have both said that a judge is LIKELY to sympathize with my side, but I don't want to go that far or to test that theory out.