I just got a crate for Ferris two days ago, and tomorrow night will be the first night I go to work and leave him in the crate for an extended period of time. My neighbor was nice enough to offer to stop by and let him out, feed him, let him do his business and get him back in the crate. If she couldn't do that, then I would have been pretty much forced to do one of three things--give him free roam of the house, which I had been doing for the past two weeks, only to come home to something different destroyed each day-- keep him in the crate for 12 hours(my trainer at PetSmart said it would be okay as long as i didnt feed him or let him drink anything beforehand--yikes)--and the last thing I would want to do would be to take him to the animal shelter. That ain't gonna happen so there might be a day here and there when Ferris is locked up for longer than usual, but I am sure he will do okay.
Well, good luck to you, Aquagirl, and I hope that you can find a solution to your problem. Keep us updated!!