Max rewards good behavior

Max walks through the halls at Rivera Elementary School and children's faces light up.

"Hi Max. Hey Maxi," some students and teachers call out to the nearly 3-year-old Australian shepherd.

Others wave and smile.

Every Monday and Friday, the nearly 90-pound dog walks the halls with school counselor Anne Ivy. Some days he visits classrooms, delivering certificates to children recognized for good behavior.

"He loves the kids and they love him," Ivy said. "He seems to know when it's his day to come to school and he seems excited. He beats me out the door."

When school staff and volunteers notice a student exemplifying good behavior, they nominate the child for a golden ticket.

Each Monday, school administrators randomly select tickets, and the chosen students have their names read over the school intercom and receive a certificate and a visit from Max.

Max saunters into a classroom led on a leash by Ivy and all eyes are on him.

"I have a golden ticket," Ivy announces.

She then asks the recipient of the golden ticket to come to the front of the room, where she shares with the class what the student did to receive recognition.

When Ivy is done, she hands the child a certificate and the student kneels and pets Max.

Children in the classroom begin to sing "happy golden ticket day to you" to the tune of "Happy Birthday."

When the song is finished, Max circles the room with Ivy, allowing students to pet him.

Ivy adopted Max, a rescue dog, about two years ago. Ivy said one of her friends, a speech therapist, found Max while out one night in spring 2010.

"He jumped into her car," Ivy said.

Her friend, Ivy said, attempted to find the dog's owner and even left him at a shelter for a stint in hopes someone would claim him. When no one did, the friend brought Max home and e-mailed her about him, Ivy said.

Around that time, Ivy said she had attended a presentation at a counselors' conference where a counselor talked about using dogs known as "Pet Partners" to motivate students.

Registered as a Pet Partner with the Delta Society since June 2011, Max has been trained to participate in

animal-assisted activities and training programs.

In addition to assisting with Rivera Elementary good behavior certificate presentations, Max has also been asked to help children with reading on occasion, listening to the students as they read aloud to practice and become proficient readers.

Ivy said she uses Max for guidance-counseling sessions to sooth and motivate students who may be upset about something. Classes that set goals and achieve them also get to play fetch and other activities with the gentle and quiet dog during private recesses, Ivy said.

Rivera Elementary first-grader Megan Hastings said Max is "the goodest dog ever."

"I feel really happy that he's here," she said. "He's really friendly and he's really cute."

Rivera Elementary principal Roshaunda Thomas said school administrators have charted discipline data since Max's arrival at the school in October 2010, and what they've noticed is that discipline referrals have decreased by at least 40 percent.

Students "want to do the right thing" for opportunities to interact with Max, she said.

Ivy said that it's rewarding to see the students' excitement when Max is around.

"He was born to do this," she said. "He's a natural. He just really seems to enjoy his job."

BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is btabor@dentonrc.com .