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Michele Reinkemeyer, Founder of Heaven Scent Paws

By Lahle Wolfe, About.com

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HSP specializes in Diabetic Alert Dogs and Seizure Alert/Response Dogs

Image Courtesy of HSP

Contact Information:

Heaven Scent Paws, Inc., 108 Hwy PP, St. Elizabeth, Missouri 65075

Phone: (573) 493-2627

Heaven Scent Paws (HSP) began informally operating in 2003, but has since been established as a fully incorporated, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization.

About Michele Reinkemeyer:

Michele Reinkemeyer, a married woman entrepreneur, and mother of seven children, has been actively involved in training dogs for search and rescue, police work, therapy, and medical assistance for many years.

She is the founder, and President of Heaven Scent Paws, the largest diabetes alert service dog organization in the United States.

A Fateful Day:

On New Year's Eve of 2000, Michele took her seven-year-old son, Joseph, to the emergency room. She had been repeatedly told by other doctors her son only had the flu. But Joseph had now lost 12 pounds in two weeks, and was excessively thirsty. Not only was he not showing any signs of improving, he was clearly getting worse.

By the time Joseph was finally diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, he was so sick, that doctors said he was hours away from death. He stayed in the hospital for a week before going home to face a lifetime of shots and finger sticks.

A Growing Family:

Six months went by, and the Reinkemeyer family adjusted well. Prior to their son’s illness, they were in the middle of trying to adopt a child. The resumed the process but instead of adopting one child, they fell in love with, and adopted a sibling group of four children. Overnight, their family of five grew to a family of nine.

The Seizures Start:

One night, Joseph’s blood sugar dropped too low and he began having seizures. The doctors “reassured” Michele that this was simply one of the things that happened to people with diabetes. She was told to let her son’s sugars run higher to avoid seizures, but this meant certain damage to vital organs years later. Michele could not accept this.

Already deprived of sleep from caring for 7 children, Michele set 3-4 alarms each night to get up and check on her son to make sure his blood sugars stayed in a safe range to prevent any more seizures. She dreaded going to sleep, fearing her son could die during the night.

A Seizure Leads to An Innovative Idea:

When Joseph had his 11th seizure, he nearly died. Michele, unable to sleep, for fear her son would die with the next seizure, searched the Internet for answers. Almost by chance, she found an article about a woman who had a service dog that had somehow also learned to alert to low blood sugars on its own.

Michele, began to think if a dog could learn on its own, perhaps she could train a dog to detect low blood sugars and help her son.

Finding the Right Dog:

The idea to train a diabetes alert dog came easier to Michele then did finding a suitable dog to train. She searched for months in shelters, calling service dog organizations, and no one seemed interested in helping her. She attempted to train several dogs, but they just didn't cut it.

Eventually, her persistence led her to an 8-week-old female German shepherd puppy, named Delta. The dog came all the way from Germany, and cost Michele’s struggling family $1,000. It was a true leap of faith by a mother desperate to save her son.

Training the Trainer:

Michele read everything should could about dogs. Eventually, she was able to develop a training protocol that she would later patent and use to help train dozens of diabetes alert dogs for other families. After only two weeks of training, Delta alerted during the night, and rather persistently, that Joseph’s blood sugars had dropped too low.

Michele also trained a yellow lab named Lance, to assist her daughter, Alice, who was also diagnosed with type 1 diabetes not long after her brother’s diagnosis. Because of the dog’s remarkable scent skills and devotion, Alice has never had a single seizure.

Fame Has Its Price, But Also Its Lessons:

Michele began training dogs for others and placing them with families through a licensed service dog organization. She was featured on Good Morning America, dressing her family in “Sunday best” per the producer’s strict instructions. The organization she had collaborated with wanted her to promote their organization, wear their T-shirts, and give them credit for training the dogs, including Delta and Lance. Michele refused.

After the show aired, the organization attempted to discredit Michele and her family. It was then that Michele decided to start her own organization so that she could work directly with families.

Growing Pains:

Michele reports, “When we chose to become "official" and incorporate our own organization, it quickly became obvious we would need help from others to fulfill the need as applications poured in.” To better provide for her clients, Michele solicited volunteers.

HSP now has a board of directors, and a panel of experts including two veterinarians, a psychologist, an occupational therapist, an endocrinologist, master trainers, professional dog breeders, puppy raisers, a CPA, and two attorneys.

It took over a year to receive their tax exemption status, but today, Heaven Scent Paws is a fully-incorporated, 501(c)(3), tax exempt organization, with dozens of volunteers.

What Her Organization Does

HSP no longer offers fully-trained dogs. Instead, she teaches others how to train their own dogs. Clients attend three-week sessions on her farm in Missouri and are carefully matched to dogs in training that are provided by HSP. The lessons are intense, lasting hours each day, and training must continue after the dogs go home with their new families.

Michele has a long list of satisfied clients that stand by their dog’s abilities to detect changes in blood sugars and alert to their owners. And two of those "clients" are her own children.

A Word From Michele

Our clients are loyal and some of our best advocates. For their efforts and "word of mouth" testimony, we will always be grateful. For their willingness to jump in and help other families going through the same thing, we know they are priceless.

So much time and energy is given on a daily basis by our volunteers (several were once clients). We appreciate them more than we can express and know this has made so much more possible for our clients today and in the future.

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