<human>: Okay - so, our family dog has become increasingly aggressive over the past few years.  She's really never been good with other dogs, but always affectionate and kind with people.

Before I moved out of the house about 3 years ago, we started noticing behaviour that was out of character for her... she'd just "snap" and growl at us, then go back to normal as if nothing had happened.  Since I've left home, she's been attacking my mom and dad more and more frequently.  It's gotten to the point where she needs to be crated whenever anybody comes over, because she'll just lunge at them whether she knows them or not.  She has broken skin on numerous occasions.

Over the past year,  my parents have taken her to two separate vets to get her checked out for anything unusual.  They also hired a dog whisperer to work with her. Neither were successful in diagnosing/improving her behavior.

Today, my mom spoke with the breeder, and she told her that our dog is not behaving normally at all and attributes it to some form of mental illness/disease.  She believes our dog could have suffered a stroke and may have been experiencing a series of small strokes over the years.  She told my mom that our dog must be put down, for both her and our sake.

It's been a very difficult pill for me to swallow and I feel as though there must be an avenue we haven't exhausted yet. 

Has anyone been in this situation before?  Is euthanasia really the answer? Please help, I love her dearly and can't bear the thought of an empty house without her.

Give me the gist of the text in a nutshell
<bot>: my parents are probably going to put my dog down this week for intesifying aggressive behaviour.. What other options are there?