Denali

There's no easy way to say goodbye to a friend, especially when they've supported you through your darkest times.

Made possible by Patagonia
Generous support from: First Descents, Ruffwear and Snow Peak

In order of appearance: Ben Moon & Denali
Producer: Ben Moon // Moonhouse
Directed / edited / written: Ben Knight // Felt Soul Media
DP: Skip Armstrong // Wazee Motion Pictures
Second Camera: Page Stephenson
Co-Writer: Katie Klingsporn
Wet Camera: Justin Harris
Sound Recordist: Jim Hurst
Music Supervisor: Ben Knight and Chris Parker
Sound Mix: Justin Harris
Narrated by: Ben Knight

Music by: Chihei Hatakeyama, Images of a Broken Light — www.chihei.org
Music by: Odesza, It's Only [feat. Zyra] In Return, www.odesza.com, courtesy of Counter Records 2014

Still Photographs by: Ben Moon, Lisa Hensel, Carli Davidson, Miranda Moon, Vivian Moon, Jean Redle Dawn Kish, Lisa Skaff, Pete Rudge, Kristen & Ian Yurdin, and John Sterling

================
Captions courtesy of the Radical Access Mapping Project, on the Un-ceded Coast Salish Territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.
To learn more, see: http://radicalaccessiblecommunities.wordpress.com/subtitled-videos/
================

[waves crashing against a shore]

[Denali] I overheard someone talking
about their problems the other day.

"I had the worst day ever", they said.

"First, there was nowhere to park
at Whole Foods,

and everyone was acting all aggro,

so I had to walk like two blocks in the rain,
and my shoes got soaked.

Then my stupid salad was like $12.

Then I was in such a rush to get to yoga,

I forgot my mat

and I had to use some nasty loaner mat

and it smelled like balls."

[Denali] I don't know what the big deal is,
I love the way balls smell.

I'm pretty sure Ben knows I'm dying.

I'm not sure if it's the cancer
or something else,

but he's been taking me

to all the places we used to go to,

and checking on me a lot.

The other day he asked me to let him know

when I was ready to go.

He said he didn't want me to suffer.

[waves crashing]

Growing up with Ben was pretty great.

He made pictures for a living,

and didn't feel as comfortable in the city,

so we traveled around a lot.

He's what his hippie friends call

a "free spirit" or something.

We camped a lot.

I'd pretend I was a giant stinky butterfly.

I'd help Ben find girlfriends.

We'd go shark fishing.

We'd do yoga.

I'd give him kisses.

We'd hang out with famous people.

We even went sailing in the desert once.

Which brings me to a time in my life

that I've always been
a little self-conscious about.

Of course it's not my fault,

but I became SO HANDSOME

that it was impossible to ignore.

When Ben started to notice,

I had to start working for a living.

Humiliating outfits became pretty standard.

If you've ever been told to look cute,

you know it's not as easy as it sounds.

And you can't just fake
special kisses in the studio.

It won't look authentic.

Oh man, those were the good old days for sure.

I think most people would've
left their old dog at home,

but Ben insisted on taking me
to all our favourite spots one more time.

I think he feels like he can't
leave my side right now.

This one time, about ten years ago,

we were camping at Joshua Tree,

and Ben stood up by the campfire
and just passed out.

And he started bleeding.

Things changed a lot after that.

When I licked him, I could taste the chemicals

they were putting in him to kill the cancer;

but it just seemed like
they were killing him too.

[muffled deep waves crashing under water]

If anyone had tried to take me
out of that hospital room,

I would've bitten their face.

I remember feeling really sad for Ben

when he found out he'd have to poop into
a plastic bag attached to his stomach

for the rest of his life.

Mainly because he already had
to put all of my poop into plastic bags.

The worst though was when this letter
came from the insurance company.

["...we are rescinding your coverage
and denying the claim."]

One time I had the best dream ever.

I dreamed I had rabies

and snuck into the insurance company

to share my rabies
with as many people as I could

before they shot me with a tranquilizer gun.

I don't know what
I would have done without Ben.

I'm so glad his cancer went away.

I'd be so scared right now

if I was going through this without him.

I've been trying to be really strong
for him this week.

Just like he was when things
were going really bad.

My last night was really peaceful.

I wasn't hungry anymore,

so I let Ben know it was time.

And he let me sleep on his chest all night.

Ben said a raven swooped by

while he carried me
to the vet's car in the morning.

I'm sure his hippie friends
had lots to say about that.

There was this really smart scientist guy

who thought that people
could learn a lot from dogs.

He said that when someone you love

walks through the door,

even if it happens five times a day,

you should go totally insane with joy.

[sweeping melodic electronic music
with high vocals]