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.
State Sen. Mike Kowall says Cena “has done a fabulous job” and now “is welcomed home.”
People said their goodbyes to Cena a 10-year-old black lab who was a military service dog before they leave for his last ride at the LST 393 in Muskegon, Mich., on July 26. Cena was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bone cancer after owner U.S. Marine veteran Lance Cpl. Jeff DeYoung noticed he wasn’t putting weight on his front left leg. (Joel Bissell/Muskegon Chronicle via AP)
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.
U.S. Marine veteran Lance Cpl. Jeff DeYoung carries Cena a 10-year-old black lab who was a military service dog, aboard the LST 393 where he was put down on July 26 in Muskegon, Mich. Cena was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bone cancer after DeYoung noticed he wasn’t putting weight on his front left leg. (Joel Bissell /Muskegon Chronicle via AP)
