After he sank into a depression following yet another losing political campaign, John found a dog on his doorstep. A gift from his nice sister.

Lenny is not always a good dog, which is part of what makes him a great one. He knows how to create a diversion in order to yoink a snack, he is addicted to running up drainpipes, and he has wagged at least 100,000,000 times so far. That is not hyperbole. We can show the math.

But like so many humans, Lenny could not take one moment not being in the company of John. More to the point, Lenny started peeing on the bedsheets when John went out. Message received. He now lives with John’s sister and brother-in-law, where he has taught fellow dog Jake how to steal a tomato off the plant (though not the secret of figuring out which are the ripest).

John visits whenever he can and often has Lenny on weekends.