here's a question...

ORIGINAL: DPU

Cassie has no health issues relating to crating, nor is she neglected, abused, or otherwise mistreated.  Her crate is roomy, and she gets excercise and attention before and after going to bed. 

In my opinion, it's way too simplistic to say "if your dog has to be crated, she needs more training".  I think it's too simplistic to say "crating solves all dog problems", too.  Life is more complex than that.  If you choose not to crate your dogs, that's fine with me - I used to say I'd never crate a dog.  I feel differently now.  Please understand that others have opinions on the subject, and yours aren't necessarily the only valid points of view.

It sounds like Cassie is very well taken care of.  It also sounds like she is in a work in process and you are attentive in making her comfortable.  Sometimes, and this is a critique of me, I don't notice changes and I get complacent with the status quo.  For example, most of the foster dogs I get are way underweight and one of the first things I do is give them proper nourishment to put on weight.  When they kind of exceed their normal weight I don't notice them getting chubby because I see them every day.  It is not until the dog showings that someone will point this out.  I don't resent it, I react by reducing their food intake and more exercise.  The same can happen for a growing dog that is crated for a long period of time.  I am sure that is what happened to Andrienne.  The owners did not notice she was growing and the crate was becoming too small for her.  When the medical condition was pronounce, well it was off to the shelter with her.  To be perfectly honest, I am being judgemental because I know I would not be able to function at work knowing that my dogs were crated for 11 hours.  Although I am sure the dogs would get use to it over time, I would not be able to handle the time it takes.  I still also say that unless a dog chooses to go into its crate in evening, I see no reason why the dog can't be with its people and I think that should be the families goal.

Thanks for the clarification. 

We've talked about letting Cassie sleep in our room with us, but, since the cats issue is still a concern, I'm not in favor of it.  She doesn't go to bed until about 11:00, and is up before 6:00, so it's not too long.  As I said, she's still sound asleep when I go down anyway.

In any case, she is improving, but I don't think she'll ever be Charlie (we brought Charlie home from the pound on a Monday evening, and left her alone in the house with the two cats the next day). 

Unfortunately, I think there are some dogs that will never be OK left alone in the house.  I don't know for sure if Cassie is one of those or not.  I suspect she'll continue to get more freedom as she gets older.

Here's my two girls at our old lake home (we've got a new one now).  This picture is two years old, so Cassie is filled out a little more now.  Charlie's on the left.
 
BTW, Charlie passed her Pet Partners test, so she's an "Angel Dog", and goes to the rehabilitation hospital to visit people every week.  Cassie has a ways to go before she'll be able to pass the test.