Ashes of Marine dog buried at Michigan War Dog Memorial
By The Associated Press
Small U.S. flags decorate a tombstone during a funeral service for Cena, a 10-year-old military service dog, at the Michigan War Dog Memorial in South Lyon on Aug. 26, 2017. (Hunter Dyke/The Ann Arbor News via AP)
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U.S. Marine veteran Lance Cpl. Jeff DeYoung speaks during a funeral service for Cena, a 10-year-old military service dog, at the Michigan War Dog Memorial in South Lyon on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. (Hunter Dyke/The Ann Arbor News via AP)
U.S. Marine veteran Lance Cpl. Jeff DeYoung is presented a flag during a funeral service for Cena, a 10-year-old military service dog, at the Michigan War Dog Memorial in South Lyon on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. (Hunter Dyke/The Ann Arbor News via AP)
U.S. Marine veteran Lance Cpl. Jeff DeYoung carries the ashes of his dog, Cena, with Marine Corps veteran John North during a funeral service for the 10-year-old military service dog at the Michigan War Dog Memorial in South Lyon on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. (Hunter Dyke/The Ann Arbor News via AP)
Cena's ashes sit on the hood of U.S. Marine veteran Lance Cpl. Jeff DeYoung's Jeep before a funeral service for the 10-year-old military service dog at the Michigan War Dog Memorial in South Lyon on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. (Hunter Dyke/The Ann Arbor News via AP)
Tanya O'Connor of Clio places the paw of her dog, Ace, on Cena's ashes alongside her great niece, Skylar Erver, 9, during a funeral service for the 10-year-old military service dog, at the Michigan War Dog Memorial in South Lyon on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. (Hunter Dyke/The Ann Arbor News via AP)
Jon North, center, and Jeffrey DeYoung, right, carry the urn containing the remains of Cena the 10-year-old black lab, during the memorial service at the Michigan War Dog Memorial in Lyon Township, Mich., on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. Cena served three tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines and was given a tear-filled final goodbye last month. (Junfu Han/Detroit Free Press via AP)
A dog lies on the ground during a funeral service for Cena, a 10-year-old military service dog, at the Michigan War Dog Memorial in South Lyon on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. (Hunter Dyke/The Ann Arbor News via AP)
A woman wipes tears from her eyes during a funeral service for Cena, a 10-year-old military service dog, at the Michigan War Dog Memorial in South Lyon on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. (Hunter Dyke/The Ann Arbor News via AP)
Small U.S. flags decorate a tombstone during a funeral service for Cena, a 10-year-old military service dog, at the Michigan War Dog Memorial in South Lyon on Aug. 26, 2017. (Hunter Dyke/The Ann Arbor News via AP)
LYON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The ashes of a cancer-stricken service dog who served three tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines have reached their final resting place.
The Detroit News and MLive.com report a couple hundred people gathered Saturday for the burial of Cena at the Michigan War Dog Memorial in Oakland County’s Lyon Township. The 10-year-old black lab was interred with other military service dogs.
Hundreds of people in Michigan came together to salute to a cancer-stricken dog who served three tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines.
State Sen. Mike Kowall says Cena “has done a fabulous job” and now “is welcomed home.”
The dog was a bomb-sniffer for the Marines until retiring in 2014. Cena became a service dog for Lance Cpl. Jeff DeYoung, the dog’s first wartime partner.
DeYoung organized a celebration last month in Muskegon that drew hundreds before Cena was euthanized at a museum ship and carried off in a flag-draped coffin.
