Pain is pain Chelsea -- And I don't mean that to sound trite. I will never *ever* forget the night Ms. Socks came in from the back yard -- the only word I can use to describe her was "grey". (a red/white boxer pit mix). It took her a LONG time to come in ... I *KNEW* something was wrong.
She took one look at her dish ... and walked away. WHOA -- this was a dog who was a food vacuum. But when she looked in her dish -- she looked for a long minute and literally shook her head and walked away.
Sometimes cancer - like bone cancer -- it hurts ALL the time and it worsens. Sometimes cancer can 'burst' or erupt -- and that's what happened to Ms. Socks. Apparently a nodule burst when she was outside -- and she literally decided THEN not to eat. Dogs do, upon occasion, try to suicide. And I knew then, she'd given me my answer.
She looked fine. But to her, that pain was **TOO** much.
The difficult thing for you is that Cherokee is so bonded to you. That means Cherokee will try to deny herself to not cause *you* pain. So you'll have to watch her carefully.
I'm having to make the same call with Kee Shu right now -- and it's not fun. But no, hon -- often you get nothing other than knowing *that* dog and knowing when they are in pain ALL the time then it's time to help them out. Pain, in itself, is very wearing. It becomes a haze that colors everything.