Thirteen's blood tests came back, inconclusive. The vet said that a few of the numbers were slightly out of normal, but nothing extraordinary that would point to a particular problem. (I didn't talk to her, she left a message on my voice mail.)
The vet suggested two courses of action: first, it might be bad teeth making it painful for Thirteen to eat. If that's not it, then we could do an ultrasound to look for "a growth" in her abdomen.
Obviously I don't want Thirteen to have cancer, but if it's the dental problem, that would be bad too. Because they use a general anesthetic to pull (or even clean) a dog's teeth. And that's dangerous for such an old dog. I hate the thought of her having constant pain from her teeth, but I hate the thought of her dying under anesthesia more.
On our next visit I'm going to discuss the options with the vet, and find out what she thinks of the risk from anesthesia. And also find out whether the ultrasound would be worth it. If we did find cancer, what would we do with that information? I don't think there really are any treatment options for a pet Thirteen's age. It might help us make decisions about pain relief though, & if that's the case, it will be worth it to do the test.
In the meantime, worrying about cancer isn't going to do Thirten any good, so I'm not going to worry about it. On the other hand, if it's her teeth then I can do her some good right now. On my way home this evening I picked up some canned dog food and some of her regular kibble in "small bites." I thought that might be easier for her to eat, if her teeth are the problem.
We gave her half canned and half small bites, mooshed together. As I expected, Thirteen lost all indifference when presented with a dish full of smelly soft canned food. She ate it all immediately, including the pills and every last little bit of kibble. Then we gave her some more kibble, and she went back and ate all that too. WHEW!
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