by Mary Colarik

Everybody has a story. This story is about a dog named Eben. A little dog with a big love for everything San Clemente - ocean views, beach lifestyle, friendly business owners, people, family and much more. 

His life began in a puppy mill. Unwanted puppies that are not up to the standards of the breed are often abandoned or even drowned. Some are fortunate enough to be sold at auctions dirt cheap. A rescue organization purchased Eben from an auction when he was just a puppy, and he was put up for adoption on PetFinders.com – a large network offering pets available for adoption from shelters and rescue groups across the country.

Relationship often begins with a special connection. The adoption of Eben began simply enough. Renee’s husband, Mike Morse was perusing the PetFinder website looking for a chihuahua to adopt when he came across a small puppy. He said to Renee, “this is a French Bulldog, a really cool dog.” Renee replied, “I don’t know what that is and I don’t want it.” In fact, Renee didn’t want any breed of dog.

 

As that famous line from a Rolling Stones song lyric states, “No, you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you find you get what you need.” And … as many life stories go … you don’t always know what you want or what you need. Unbeknownst to Renee and Eben their connection was just what each of them needed. They became attached quickly. Renee, unfamiliar with French Bulldogs, did not realize they are not athletic or suited for running and hiking. French Bulldogs are typically laid-back pets lounging on couches, slowly strolling on walks and generally living with owners who occasionally enjoy dressing them in little fun costumes. But that didn’t make a difference.

Renee and Mike love the outdoors, hiking, camping, surfing and running. The rescue organization mentioned that Eben loved being outdoors, so Renee took that to mean he would want to hike with her and that he would love to run and play on beaches in Southern California and along the shoreline of Lake Tahoe. So the couple set out with a little dog with a big heart joyfully excited about accompanying Renee and Mike on their camping and hiking outings. He was ready for adventures on the road and at home.

Raised in Long Beach and attending UC Santa Barbara, Rene continued her studies at Biola and Vanguard Universities. She earned a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy as well as a degree in Spiritual Reformation and Soul Care. Not only a therapist, she considers herself a Spiritual Director. Her husband, Mike, is a photographer. 

Renee had always wanted to live in San Clemente so around the time Eben was adopted the pair found a home close to the beach. Their life in town was humming along, careers were taking off and they loved interacting with friendly locals; many who looked forward to seeing Eben on his walks about town. Like Mike, the little Bull Dog especially liked stopping into the old Three Dog Bakery spot for a treat.

 

Then in 2019, Eben received a cancer diagnosis. During the same period, Renee’s father experienced a recurrence of his cancer, and Mike underwent treatment for a suspected cancerous tumor, which was later identified as non-cancerous. Renee was sad and depressed with all these health scares with her dad, partner and dog. When she saw her little dog’s determination to live in the moment she learned a good lesson from him - live each day fully. Although Eben experienced a short time of chemo therapy, most of his cancer was treated with high doses of Vitamin C infusions. He continued to be delighted to get out in nature, enthusiastically hiking trails and climbing up mountains. Family hikes were generally 7-14 miles to the top of quite a few peaks throughout the west. 

Before long, the couple had adopted another little rescue Frenchie, whom they named Lassen. The ‘four amigos’ spent many days road tripping to Lake Tahoe and Colorado enjoying the great outdoors. 

Renee also took the two dogs to visit people at the United Cerebral Palsy Center in San Diego County. The dogs had a special ability to cheer up those they visited. Sometimes Renee outfitted them in holiday attire, bringing extra joy and smiles to patients on those days. It was evident that Eben and Lassen felt the happy response and the immense joy they provided at the center.

While Eben was continuing to live a quality life despite his cancer diagnosis Renee decided to write and produce a short film about his life. She and Mike auditioned people to narrate the short film, but none of the voices matched the qualities needed for Eben’s character, so Mike became the narrator. He had exactly the right intonation and ability to tell the important story of hope and resilience from Eben’s perspective. San Clementean, Josh Greene, a recent University of Southern California Cinematic Films graduate, and his friend, Jack Lattin, directed and edited the film. Lattin provided the cinematography while Morse contributed the still photographs. Leslie Lowe, a singer/songwriter residing in San Clemente wrote and performed the special song, ‘In the Wind,’ specifically for Eben’s story. The film is a ‘love letter’ to San Clemente, expressed from the perspective of a loyal dog who cherishes his life in this Southern California coastal community. Much like many people residing at the southern tip of Orange County, he truly embraced living here. 

Mike Morse set up fundraisers in San Clemente during Eben’s five-year cancer journey to raise money for the pet’s treatments. Many people willingly contributed, paying $25 for a portrait. (Morse’s professional photography rate is $500.00 for a portrait.) People received a good deal on the photo while happily helping the little pup during his cancer care.

The film is written from Eben’s viewpoint as a dog with a blog, ‘Crazy for the Seal.’ He did indeed chase after a seal on a rock one day. His head was trapped deep inside the seal’s mouth. His parents rescued him from the seal, Renee bravely prying the seal’s mouth open while Mike pulled the pup to safety. Opening with this scene, captured with a quick animation by Video Animater Claire Poon, Eben continues his story describing himself as one would for an ad on a dating site. “I like hiking, camping, traveling, road tripping and I am a foodie.” 

Mike and Renee’s other rescue dog, Lassen is also featured in many of the scenes. Eben initially stating that he “liked being king of the house, but eventually adjusting to having a furry friend join him in the family wanderings.” One of his wise lessons in the film is, “Tomorrow is promised to no dog, cat, squirrel or human.”  

The 14-minute film shows many highlights of his life living in the moment, happily hiking, running and jumping around on the beach with Renee, wrestling with Lassen and teaching Lassen his innate wisdom, “I don’t need to be a big dog to do big things.” Eben’s last hike was three miles the day before he died. The film’s message is “there is always hope no matter what life throws in your bowl.”

Eben’s Award Winning Dogumentary Short Film was entered and shown at the New York Dog Film Festival, Catalina Film Festival, Carmel Film Festival and is currently making the rounds at film festivals in Australia and New Zealand. The main theme of the film is to live in the moment with hope and to inspire people to get outside with the people they love.

In addition to Renee’s practice as a Marriage and Family therapist and Spiritual Director she is now also working as a pet loss counselor. Losing a pet is often dismissed by others, but people may still need to process the profound grief of losing their pet. It may only take a couple of sessions talking it out with a counselor to ease the sorrow.

Access Film on YouTube, “EBEN, dog film or #ebenfilm. Rene can be contacted at  www.petloss-journey.com.