James and Goldens

Writing, they say, is a solitary endeavor. A solitary existence. Even a form of solitary confinement. Not for me.

For almost my entire writing career, I’ve had a four-legged companion at my side. Sam, a dark golden retriever, joined our family in Spring 1996. He was at my “co-author” for nine novels in his nine too-short years. After he passed, I wrote an article about “Sammy and Me” for the Miami Herald. I received more letters and emails about that article than anything I have ever written. Click Here if you would like to read it … but you may want to grab a Kleenex before you do.

We got Max in 2009. A breeder in Maine wrote to me after reading my article about Sam. She was moved to tears and told me to call her when I was ready for another golden. When I finally did call, she told me that one of her goldens had just had a litter of puppies, and she was so sorry, but all nine were all spoken for. A day later, she called me back, sobbing. “I re-read your article about Sam,” she said. “Please take the golden I was going to keep for myself.” And that is how Max—beautiful Max—became part of our family. If you read my novels, you’ll find that Jack Swyteck has a golden named Max. Definitely no coincidence.

As Max aged, we made a family decision to avert that empty feeling we had in the years between Sam and Max. I called the same breeder in Maine. She remembered Max, and she put a lot of thought into which of her puppies was best suited to hang with Mas in his senior years. She selected Atlas, who we named after Max’s father. He was the perfect companion for Max.

All of them—Sam, Max, and Atlas—are forever this writer’s best friend. Here are some additional photos guaranteed to make you smile.