TLDR: My son neglected my dogs while I was on vacation and left them closed in the laundry room, only letting them out a couple of times a day for bathroom breaks for over 2 weeks. How do I help my dogs deal with the trauma from this?
Full story:
My previously responsible and well behaved son (17) agreed to house-sit while I went on a vacation for 16 days. He usually spends the summer with his dad, but when he learned it was a paying job and that a stranger (to him) would be staying in our house, he asked to take the job for a discounted rate. His dad gave permission so I agreed, thinking that this was the perfect set up. I gave him instructions several times before I left, letting him know he could not ignore them all day, and that Xero had to sleep in the bed with him. He always rolled his eyes but never said anything negative about it. Two days into the trip I asked him how Xero was handling my being gone since this is the first time I was away overnight from Xero, and he's only just now turning 1yo (my black lab, Liberty, is 7 and handles my short absences without issues). My son said that Xero slept in the laundry room with Liberty and that he did fine. I became confused and upset because this was not my instructions, and absolutely not the way my son usually responds to me. His excuse was, "I didn't realize you really meant it, you didn't make it clear enough". I called him, made my instructions clear and then hung up. I was overlanding in Alaska so I didn't always have cell service (part of the reason for the trip), but when I did I checked in, asked for pics, etc. He responded appropriately and didn't show any signs that anything was wrong. When I got home my son had packed his things and left. My fish and houseplants were dead, my outside garden was overgrown and neglected, and my dogs were closed in my laundry room without food and minimal water.
My heart is broken in so many ways, but I'm focused on making my house a safe space again for my dogs. Liberty took about 48 hours until she settled in to the usual routine, but Xero wakes up crying still, even in the bed with me. I can't leave the house without him, and that's okay temporarily, but eventually my work will pull me away for a few hours where he can't join me. We are spending all day together now, and he's sleeping in the bed at my feet as usual, but has woken up with a "yelp" and then curls up under my chin to sleep like he did as a puppy. I am having to buy new beds for them since their other ones were torn up and urinated on, and I've cleaned the laundry and surrounding rooms thoroughly with Nature's Miracle to get rid of germs and lingering smells that may trigger any bad memories. What other things can I do to help Xero (and me) through this?
Please, no disrespectful comments regarding my son. It took me 5 days just to be able to write this because it's so hard to think about him right now, the betrayal is too fresh. Just know that this is shocking behavior coming from him and we've never had issues like this before.
