Family Says $17,000 Service Dog Bit Their Child and Failed to Perform Tasks

$17,000.00. That's how much money 10-year-old Jason Rinkel and his family raised for a service dog for Jason, in large part through profits from his brother's lemonade stand that drew international headlines. After saving for months, the family was able to purchase a dog from Heaven Scent Paws, a business based in Missouri that specializes in diabetes alert dogs.

Rather than a dream come true for Jason, the Rinkel family says the dog selected for them by Heaven Scent Paws has been a nightmare. Not only did "Jedi" fail to perform the task for which he was trained, Jason says the dog bit him.

"That was the final straw," said Marisa, Jason's mother. She returned Jedi to Heaven Scent Paws after the incident, but no portion of the $17,000.00 price was refunded.

A home video taken in February, 2008, shows Jedi sitting by as Marisa checks Jason's blood sugar and finds that it is unusually low. A diabetic alert service dog is trained to alert a diabetic person or, in Jason's case, his parents, if blood sugars drop. Suddenly plunging blood sugar can send a person with diabetes into a coma, or even be fatal. Drops in blood sugar can occur without warning and without the diabetic person being aware of the change. There are many different ways for a medical alert dog to perform its task, including barking, pawing, or nosing at the owner, but sitting idly during a dangerous hypoglycemic episode isn't among these.

Jedi isn't the only dog alleged to have been paired with an owner/handler without receiving sufficient training. The Missouri Attorney General's office has filed charges against Heaven Scent Paws, alleging that it "took thousands of dollars in payment from consumers to train service dogs, many of whom did not perform."

Heaven Scent Paws responded yesterday to the charges with a press release, saying, "Heaven Scent Paws, Inc. vehemently denies the allegations of the Missouri Attorney General's Office, and is committed to fighting the harmful and false allegations that have been made against us." HSP says the claims that led to the lawsuit come from, "The complaints of a few unreasonable and disgruntled families."

About Jedi and the Rinkel family in particular, Heaven Scent Paws spokesman Dave Bandre says, "The contract informs them that when the dog comes home… the dog will not be fully trained. If these folks want to say, 'Well, we didn't know that,' they signed a contract that says it."

Jason Rinkel won't go without a service dog. A family in Washington heard about their ordeal and gave them another dog, which is currently completing its training with a professional trainer. His brother, Mark, hasn't let the experience discourage him from raising money for good causes by selling lemonade. He's hosting a lemonade contest for kids this summer.