Saga of the dog who's afraid of the kitchen

So as some of you may know we have been dealing with a small problem involving our dog for over a month now. At the end of May one day we realized that our dog would not go into our kitchen. Why is this a problem you ask? Well because in order for her to get to her food and the back yard, she has to go into the kitchen. I noticed at the first part of that week that she (Cheyenne) wasn't eating. I wasn't too worried because John told me that sometimes she doesn't eat when it get warm outside. What worried me was when I realized that she wasn't drinking water. She finally got so thirsty that she drank out of Johns cup one day. It was then that we realized what the problem was. We couldn't figure out why she wouldn't go in the kitchen. So we moved her bowl by our dining room table while we searched for a resolution. When we went on our cruise Johns parents watched her and they said she had a hard time going in their kitchen as well. Well a few weeks later we noticed that she would not go on any non carpet floors. It was then that we discovered that her nails are so long that the pads on her paws don't hit the floor properly. Yes we need to take her to the vet but thats not in the budget right now as they have to put her to sleep to do it. She doesn't like anyone messing with her paws.
What we ended up doing was buying some rugs from the JCPenny outlet this weekend and putting them in the kitchen. Sure enough that was the problem. She was scared at first but we immediatly moved her water bowl and food dish back into the kitchen and she will eat. What was cute was the greatful look she gave John and I when she felt the carpet under her paws. I will post pics later.
Shes a sweetheart and yes we ( actually its more me) spoil her rotten.