Maks Recognition
Recently, our mental health support dog, Maks, passed away. Maks was a big part of a lot of student lives and we wanted to give him recognition he deserves.
Maks: Mental Health Support Dog
Interview Conducted By Deenie Bulyalert
For those who do not know Maks, he was our school's mental health support dog, also known as a facility dog, that one of our counselors, Bill Sarver, brought to school. Maks made a big impact for many students here and he was the first dog at Grants Pass High School that did his type of work. Sarver described Maks' role as: "a dog that got to come to school with me and go to work. He was like a service dog, but he’s more for the building. He's more for working with student in the building instead of one single person."
Maks was there for all students whenever they needed him. Students would come in to see him when they were having a bad day. Whenever I went in to see Sarver, Maks was the first thing I noticed as a student and he was always so sweet, taking away all the weight I had on me when I pet him. There were students who would even sign up on Sarver's clip board just to see Maks. He was a breath of relief for a lot of people.
Maks passed away from cancer when he was just over 6 years old. He was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer that was incurable two weeks before his passing and he was no longer eating. Sarver and his wife, after lots of conversation, made the hard decision to put him down. There were potential treatments that may have prolonged his life for a few weeks, but they decided that it would not be worth keepining him around for just a bit more time, while compromising his quality of life and allowing him to live in pain.
A lot of us describe our pets in different ways. They are our companions, whether they are small animals, like fish or hamsters, or they take a whole house to themselves, like horses. Sarver says Maks was intuitive, along with having many other skills. "When kids were having a rough day, they would sit there and he would just come over and put his head on their knees. He seemed to sense what was going on with people's moods." He was also described as soft, which I and many other students can attest to. Maks knew how to be kind and everyone who met him knew it, as well. "He was a very easy dog," according to Sarver, "who would do anything for anyone." Yet, Sarver describes that Maks remained calm while taking on the stress of others.
Maks was trained through an organization called Canine Angels. This is a non-profit organization that typically provides dogs for children with special needs and they do it all at no cost. Canine Angels is based in Oregon, working throughout the state and with operations in northern and southern California. Their mission is to provide resources for youth, "powered by our passion and commitment to create a better world for children with special needs."
Life can be anything except easy, but having a companion around can make it a bit more tolerable. A lot of us have experienced loss, one way or another and, within those losses, we find out what we truly miss about those who are no longer with us. "We all have rough edges and he kind of softened my rough edges. He got me a lot of credit for things I never did. He was really good at opening doors," Sarver said when he was asked what he missed most about no longer having Maks around.
Many of our freshman and sophomore classes don't really know much about Maks, but those in our junior and senior classes would sit through presentations with him, pet him in the halls, go to Sarver's room just to hang out with Maks. Speaking on behalf of myself, what I will miss most about Maks is seeing him in the halls. No matter what kind of day I was having, knowing that Maks was one door knock away always made things easier. Seeing him while I walked to class never failed to make my heart happy. He brought joy to so many students at our school without fail. I think a lot of students share the same feelings. "Some [students] came in proactively to seek him out. Other kids just saw him in the hallways...We had him for 4 years in the school, but two of those years kind of got goofed up by COVID. That was where I get angry at times because I feel like he was robbed, or that I was robbed...He was so young, so I get a little frustrated," Sarver says in his interview.
Sarver refers to his wife, who is an elementary school teacher. She used to bring Maks in to see the kids every now and then. There, he says, Maks' death is "much more difficult because she has little kids. Kindergarten through fifth grade. They're really cute. They ask the cutest kind of questions, but it just makes her sad." The kids that are taught by Sarver's wife would make statements like, " 'Oh, hey, I found a Maks hair on me,' or they'll make goofy comments about his crazy hair, or when is he coming back. Some of them get it, and some of them don't." As elementary school students, they brought her flowers and made her cards, which she adored. Loss is hard and sadness still engulfs us sometimes when reminders of what we no longer have is brought up. It has been both difficult for Sarver and his wife as they move forward with getting used to Maks no longer being around. Sarver continues to phase out some of Mak's belongings from his office.
Throughout this big change, Sarver has been shown the additional kindness of students and staff during this time. Many individuals have gone in to ask Sarver how he truly is and he is so amazed by the caring behavior of others. "That's been touching. It takes one or two kids to make a difference just like it takes one or two teachers to change someone's life... just for someone to go out of their way to be kind is a big deal."
Sarver adds, "I think there is value in all kinds of things, whether it's sports, whether it's theater...clubs, marching band...I think one of those things that has been helpful is having him on campus is having another tool in the toolbox to help kids. One size doesn't fit all and if you're not a jock, if you're not a band kid, if you're not a theater kid, there's just all kind of paths that we have at the high school. We're lucky because we're a big school. A lot of times, students feel like they are getting lost in the cracks or they just don't have a connection, so I think there will be some kids who will miss that connection." Maks helped balanced people out.
A couple of years ago Maks received the award for support staff member of the year. Maks got a tennis ball for his reward and the outpour of joy that people emitted was incredible to Sarver. It truly showed the impact Maks made on others.
As a final note, Sarver said that raising Maks "took so very little. Most pets, it takes very little to just make them appreciative and happy and he was always appreciative and happy. You didn't have to do much and, even with your shortcomings and even when you're a jerk and even when you're frustrated, most of your pets are still going to love you. When you lay down they lay beside you. I think they make us better. I think they bring out the good things in us and they make us feel guilty when we're jerks about things because they're always nice. At least, he was."
"Some of the littlest things cause the biggest smiles or the biggest heartbreak, but you have the memory, which is always good."
