Over protective dog

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I have a serious problem and have no idea how to handle it. My husband has a german sherperd dog that is normally a very easy going dog. We have had this dog since she was 8 months old, and she is now 4. As you can see from the picture she is a gentle dog. But my husbands health has become very bad. And the worse his health gets the more agressive she becomes to anyone or anything that get around him. She has not been agressive towards me yet. But I fear she might. When he is having problems breathing or begins hurting, she will get as close to him as she can without actually being on him. And when this happens she will not allow the other animals or our children to even come into the same room. She will not go after the children but she does get between them and the door and will not move. The animals are another story, as she will go as far as to attack them. I feel that if the we ever have to call 911, they will have to put her down inorder to get to him. We got her because he became a shut in after having a series of strokes and heart attacks. She is like part of him as she does things for him that he can longer do. Such as open doors, get things, and if he is in a room by himself and passes out or falls, she will begin barking and cutting up to get our attention. This is what she is trained to do. But then that is where the problem comes in. Lately she won't let us get to him without me screaming commands at her. She was not like this a month ago. We have discussed giving her to someone else but everyone we know is afraid of her now. As I said she is like a part of him. I can not bare the thought of having her put to sleep. But I am afraid she is going to hurt someone badly or refuse to allow help to get to him when he needs it. What can be done? Is there another way to solve this problem without having her put to sleep? I'm nearly in tears just thinking about doing that.