Wondrous Again w/ Dean Koontz

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How Bestselling Author Dean Koontz Found His Sense of Wonder Again From His Dogs

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About The Episode

Dean Koontz’s first dog was Trixie, an assistance service dog trained by Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) - who Dean has worked with for many years. After he had been feeling like he and his wife were too busy, they decided to go for it at that point or they never would. The decision paid off and Trixie changed his life.

From better spending his time during his days to impacting his sense of wonder in the world and in his writing, Trixie’s impact was undeniable. And the dog herself even “authored” several books of her own.

Eventually, Trixie sadly passed. It took Dean and his wife a bit to get through that. One step that helped bring some catharsis in that process was for him to write a memoir about Trixie, which also was his first non-fiction book. The title of that memoir, A Big Little Life, refers to the idea that all of our lives have the potential to change others and even a dog having an impact only on him, as one person, could spread to others – and there’s an overall snowball and ripple effect that happens.

After a little while, Anna then came into Dean’s life as another CCI dog. She had done almost the full training routine with the organization but she wasn’t 100% the right fit for that kind of a job so Dean took her in instead. What they didn’t realize until later, however, was that not only did Anna look similar to Trixie – she was actually her great-niece. Following Anna was another CCI dog, Elsa, who he still has right now. Each dog has their own distinct personality and enriched Dean’s life in new and exciting ways.

In Dean’s new book, DEVOTED, there is an important canine character in the book and the silhouette of a dog even graces the cover. It looks at our relationships with dogs, and is clearly a topic that Dean is qualified to write about.

About The Guest - Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz is a number one bestselling author whose work spans six decades and has had both commercial and critical success. His books have sold more than 500 million copies to date. Koontz also has written about several dog characters in his work, including his new book DEVOTED. Dean has had three dogs of his own now – each of whom has had their own impact on him, but especially his first dog, Trixie. The dogs have come from Canine Companions for Independence, an organization that provides assistance dogs free of charge to adults, children, and veterans with disabilities – of which has become Dean’s favorite charity for giving his time and resources. Dogs have impacted Dean both on a personal and professional level, and you can really hear it in his voice.

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