My sister is 57 and has early onset Alzheimer's. She is still living alone for the time being, but needs a lot of help with everything from medications to getting her to eat. My other sibling and I spend minimally 2-3 hours with her every day. I am not sure how much longer she will be able to continue living independently. My issue is that in addition to helping her she has two dogs that are really high maintenance. They require multiple vet visits per month and I am spending more time than I have cleaning up after them when they make a mess in the house. I do not know what I will do with the dogs when she needs to enter a facility or if it is even best for them to be there with her by herself anymore. Has anyone had to deal with this?
I'm hoping someone is her PoA. If so, this person needs to read the PoA document and do what it takes to activate the authority so that they can step in and start to legally manage her affairs and make decisions in her own best interests.
If she has no PoA then she may be destined to be assigned a court-ordered 3rd party guardian will have legal authority to be her voice. If this happens then family will be locked out of all her accounts and won't be making decisions for her, although a good guardian will consult with those closest to the ward.
The only other option would be for "someone" in the family to pursue guardianship, which can be expensive and time-consuming.
If your sister doesn't have enough funds to pay for a higher level of care, this is a looming problem that needs to be addressed soon, so that she and family caregivers are not caught having to figure it all out during a crisis.
My own cousin whom I dearly love was diagnosed in her late 60s (and was probably showing symptoms well before that). I'm so sorry your sister and you and your family have to endure this.
May you gain wisdom and receive peace in your hearts on this journey.
I myself would not even want a POA or guardianship in these circumstances. In the case of the latter you cannot even resign or be excused other than by dying in some situations. It requires a judge to let you resign and they won't. I would leave guardianship to the state and I would enlist APS in all this sooner than later.
As to the animals, sadly they will have to go to rescue, rehoming or shelter. Start asking around now for potential adopters, but with a lot of medical needs people cannot even afford pets anymore, let alone get them back and forth to appointment.
What you're doing now isn't sustainable. It's time to discuss the future, which is just outside the doorstep. I am so very sorry. This is a dire diagnosis for one so young.