Success!!!

I ought to have posted about this sooner, but in my excitement (and in a bustle of out-of-the-house activity) I completely forgot.

PANDA IS CURED!!!

Well, kind of. (You knew that was coming.) 

As of about two weeks ago, Panda is now capable of calmly enduring time at home by herself. The longest she's gone so far is almost 6 hours; we try to make sure she spends at least 2 hours a day alone. 

The breakthrough came when Maggie put somme of our dirty clothes on the other side of the front door. When we left, Panda could still smell us (as if we were right there in the stairwell), and was comfortable enough to pass out in front of the door. Since then, she's taken to sleeping on the futon - around the corner from the door. 

When we leave the clothes, she still whines and paces for a few minutes before she calms down. When we don't leave the clothes, she's just as anxious as she ever was - barking, howling, scratching at the door. We try to always leave the clothes.

Life is completely different now that Panda can be home alone. We can take leisurely trips to the supermarket; we can go out for dinner; I can check out books from various libraries on campus without having to make sure someone can watch Panda. FREEDOM!!! 

As much as I give Maggie credit for the clothes-at-door innovation, we both realize that Panda's anti-anxiety medication (doggie Prozac) had a lot to do with it. We'll keep her on the Prozac for at least a few more months until we're absolutely sure that she'll be calm without it - until we can leave, without clothes at the door, and elicit no more than a yawn from a contented, anxiety-free Panda.