What's the deal with Dean Koontz and dogs?

Straight out of Wikipedia:

One of Dean Koontz’s pen names was inspired by his dog, Trixie Koontz, a golden retriever, shown in many of his book-jacket photos. Originally a service dog with Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), a charitable organization that provides service dogs for people with disabilities Trixie was a gift from CCI in gratitude of the Koontz’s substantial donations, totalling $2,500,000 between 1991 and 2004. Koontz was taken with the charity while he was researching his novel Midnight, a book which included a CCI-trained dog, a black Labrador retriever named Moose. In 2004 when Koontz wrote and edited Life Is Good: Lessons in Joyful Living in her name and in 2005, Koontz wrote a second book credited to Trixie, Christmas Is Good. Both books are written from a supposed canine perspective on the joys of life. The royalties of the books were donated to Canine Companions for Independence. In 2007, Trixie contracted terminal cancer creating a tumor in her heart. The Koontzes had her put to sleep outside of their family home on June 30. After Trixie’s death, Koontz has continued writing on his website under Trixie’s names, in “TOTOS”, standing for Trixie on the Other Side. It is widely thought that Trixie was his inspiration for his November 2007 book The Darkest Evening of the Year, about a woman who runs a golden retriever rescue home, and who rescues a ‘special’ dog, named Nickie, who eventually saves her life. In August of 2009, Dean will publish “A Big Little Life”, a memoir of his life with Trixie.

In October 2008 Koontz released he had adopted a new dog, Anna. It was eventually learned that Anna was the grandniece of Trixie.

@bvdshec17 Funny you should mention it.. this question was inspired by my latest read: “The Darkest Evening of the Year”. I’m only on chapter 3.

I could have sworn though that when I first started reading Koontz books was before 1991 and I remember the same thing about them from back then. I could be wrong, but I’ve always wondered what this obsession was all about. Perhaps he’s just an over-zealous dog lover as the wiki article seems to say.

The series I’m reading now doesn’t (yet) have a dog in them. He has a golden retriever which is pictured with him in the back of most (if not all) of his books!

@ShanEnri What series is that? I’ve not read a book yet that didn’t at the very least mention a dog. lol

He has had Golden Retrievers for a long time. Trixie was his most beloved one, and she died a few years back. However, he is still “channeling” her so that she has “written” three books, Bliss to You: Trixie’s Guide to a Happy Life, Life Is Good: Lessons in Joyful Living and Christmas Is Good. The royalties go to help fund Canine Companions for Independence. He has also written about Trixie in A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog.

Like many of us who live with dogs, Koontz was deeply affected by one particular dog. Because he is a writer, he writes about her in many different ways.

Dogs never live long enough.

@Darwin He’s channeling her? o. O

@NaturalMineralWater it’s the Frankenstein series! I’m on the second book (there are 3) and so far no mention of dogs!

@ShanEnrie Well there’s still hope for it. lol

frankly I find his obsession with dogs annoying. I wish his publishers would tell him to leave the dogs out of his books.I stopped reading his books if they have dogs in them. I think as someone said earlier that the only books he has not ruined with his dog reference are the Frankenstein books-so far

I enjoy Dean’s books however the constant dog characters irritate me. It ruins the story for me in a lot of his books. I keep reading in the hope there won’t be yet another dog but always end up disappointed. Fear Nothing had me hooked for a while until I ended up reading page after page a damn dog sniffing squirrels and having conversations with a man on a boat. Annoying beyond belief, ruined the book for me.

I absolutely love his books with dogs in them and I wish he would write more books with golden Retrieves in them as I’m also an owner of a Golden Retriever. They are such a beautiful and regal looking dog. I currently have a three year old Golden. I’ve read plenty of his books that didn’t have dogs in them. I’m looking for a list of his books that have dogs in them.

I know, right? I like his books but why a damn dog in every damn novel? He even writes in detail about “still-warm dog poop,” calling it a “present.” Please, PLEASE tell me which of his books don’t have a Golden pooping along the pages.