Did You Know? There’s a Michigan War Dog Memorial in Michigan
Did you know that Michigan has a cemetery that's just for dogs that have served their country?
There's no real way to talk about this in an uplifting manner but, when it comes to war loss of life seems inevitable. That, unfortunately, includes the four-legged service members too. While it's not uplifting, it's certainly heartwarming to see that a previously overgrown piece of land has now been transformed to remember the dogs that have lost their lives serving their country.
Located in South Lyon, the Michigan War Dog Memorial Cemetery was originally a pet cemetery that was founded in the 1930s, according to atlasobscura.com. The cemetery is the burial place of a few famous canines including one that served on the very first U.S. Antarctica mission and dogs who served during World War II. In fact, in 1946 local residents raised enough funds to erect a granite monument honoring war dogs. Read more here.
Unfortunately, the cemetery eventually fell into disrepair and ended up becoming overgrown with vegetation. The property has sat abandoned since the 1980s.
Thankfully, the non-profit, Michigan War Dog Memorial, was able to take over the property and transform it into what it is today. When visiting the cemetery you can expect to see headstones, statues, and an impressive wall remembering dogs that served in Vietnam. Below, you can see a few photos from a wreath-laying ceremony this past December:
Now, dogs that were service animals in any capacity can be buried at this cemetery like therapy dogs, PTSD service dogs, search and rescue, and more. Anyone is welcome to attend ceremonies and the Michigan War Dog Memorial hosts a number of events which you can find here.
All in all, thousands of dogs have served in the military over the past few decades. Read more about their service throughout history here. With that in mind, it's nice to see a non-profit working hard to make sure that the sacrifices made by these four-legged friends are recognized.
Stay up to date with the Michigan War Dog Memorial by following them on Facebook.