“Come on, you gotta be adding a little something. Mega vitamins? Black market testosterone?” I cajole. “You can tell me. Puh-lease tell me.” I hold up my arm, not flexing at all, and wiggle my triceps like it’s a bingo wing.

“Sorry, dude. No secret sauce, but the protein and veggies will help. So will some exercises. Let’s see if we can get you and the chunky dude on a routine that’ll help you both.”

Oh, yeah, Chunky.

That’s how I got him here.

Chunky’s having the time of his life, sniffing every blade of grass in the park and making friends with the handful of other dogs here. “Sure. Sounds great.”

I guess I might as well get some actual advice for Chunky and me, especially if I’m not getting much more information about the possibly poisonous smoothies. At least now I know that the specific brand we found in Yvette’s trash is one Sebastian recommends, which puts him closer to Richard Horne’s death.

Sebastian has Chunky and me doing laps around the dog park, dropping to the grass for push-ups at every corner. Well, I do push-ups while Chunky sits and catches his breath.

“Make sure to start slow. No more than twenty minutes total so Chunky gets used to the increased activity safely,” Sebastian advises.

“Let’s stop there, and I’ll film some activities you can do in place with the big guy. Less impact for you too,” Sebastian says with a wink as though I’m panting like Chunky is. I’m not tired, considering my near daily runs, but I am playing up a little bit.

So I smile as though I’m grateful. I hand Chunky’s leash over to Sebastian when he holds his hand out and stand back as Sebastian becomes the social media guru I saw on his profile.

He holds his phone at arm’s length, talking to the camera. “Hey guys, this is Sebastian, your favorite dog trainer. Today, I’m here with a special guy that’s got a problem we can all understand. A few extra ell-bees to drop . . .”

He goes on to take Chunky and the viewers on a workout regimen that involves a lot of sitting, begging, and lying down and getting up. Thankfully, Chunky does pretty well, even when Sebastian removes the leash so his feet don’t keep getting tangled up in it. “Usually, when training one of my special friends, I’d use a small treat as a reward, but that won’t work for Chunky. So instead, I use a ball as reward, letting him focus and follow it, and only occasionally, get control of it. Once he finds it to be an exciting treat, you can add playing fetch to his daily regimen.”