According to Sanderson, Max will retrieve as many as 19 or 20 cans and bottles during a morning's walk. The litter is bagged and disposed of in a recycling receptacle.

Max was abandoned by his owners at a dog pound when he was six months of age. If he had not been saved from the pound, he would have been euthanized. His body would have been disposed at a landfill along with cans, bottle, and other debris that our throwaway society discards. However, instead of being discarded, Max was recycled (adopted) by Keith and Keith's wife Helen. Now Max leads a productive life.

Sanderson, who is an e-business strategic planner and writer, claims training Max to pick up cans and bottles was easy. He says, "Max learned to do his bit against litter in less than a day."

Needless to say, Max creates his share of attention when a passerby sees him search for, find, and retrieve a discarded can or bottle. In fact, Max is becoming such an icon that Sanderson's daughter Christine asked if Max could be a spokes-canine for her company Le Thrift.

Le Thrift is an online consignment and resale store. Christine says, "LeThrift 'retrieves' brand- and designer-name clothing and accessories and recycles them by offering them for sale on its web site, www.lethrift.com. Max retrieves litter and recycles. We are both in the recycling business."

Keith resides in Deerfield, IL, with his wife Helen. They have two children, Christine, 36, and Mike, 31. When Keith isn't walking Max, he spends his days providing e-business and marketing consulting, writing, gardening, and enjoying the outdoors.