Every day that goes by, my wife and I count ourselves among the truly blessed. Our dog Hershee is 16 1/2 years old this Month, and we never expected her to make it to 15 after she had a stroke but she is still with us.
We are prepared to lose her any day, or at least we would like to think we are. She has become so unstable, she started falling forward into the dash and onto the floor every time I slowed down. One time she hurt her leg, so we began using the seat belt to hold her. The last thing she needs at her age is a broken hip.
Between my wife who is a paraplegic, my dog who seems to have doggie Alzheimers since her stroke, and my ongoing spinal troubles, we have become one gimpy family...LOL
Dogs *rarely* have “strokes”.
They do, however, get vestibular syndrome which *looks* like a stroke when it becomes acute and causes nystagmus, vertigo, limb weakness, instability and falling down.
It's very common in older dogs.
Has your vet ever -really- checked her ears?
http://suite101.com/article/what-is-canine-vestibular-syndrome-a51752
Please check into it.
There may be treatments that can improve her quality of life.
I lost my beloved Minny to it because my vet wouldn't listen to me when I told him she hadn't ‘had a stroke’ and didn't have ‘epilepsy’.
By the time another vet listened, it was too late.
I grieved -hard- for 2 years and then “just deeply” for another 10.
Good luck!