Hundreds of people in Michigan came together to salute and say a tear-filled final goodbye to a cancer-stricken dog who served three tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines.
Cena the black lab received a hero’s farewell Wednesday before being euthanized at a museum ship in Muskegon and carried off in a flag-draped coffin.
Cena was a bomb-sniffer for the Marines until his retirement in 2014. He then became a service dog for Lance Cpl. Jeff DeYoung, Cena’s first wartime partner.
Cena was recently diagnosed with terminal bone cancer.
DeYoung organized the celebration for the dog. He says he wanted to take his dog on one last ride in a topless Jeep before Cena was put down. The Jeep was decorated and named “Cancer Response Team.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.