When we first adopted our dog Magoo, he had severe separation anxiety. I used to hate crating him up when we were away because I thought it was cruel. We tried leaving the door open during short trips but he wouldn't use the crate and ended up chewing my shoes. We tried everything from calming pills to the thunder shirt. Nothing worked. We moved the crate to the front door so he could hear and see when someone returned home. We turned the crate into a cave/den. After we were getting more comfortable we tried to leave him out again. We closed off bedrooms and put away items we didn't want torn apart. It took time but he now loves his crate and it has become his safe space. Although we only have a bed where the crate used to be, if we pull out the crate for doggy guests Magoo is the first to crawl in for a nap. Crates don't have to be cruel. We eventually adopted a second dog and she provides companionship during the day while we are away (I realize this is not a possibility for everyone but it made a huge difference).