Michigan War Dog Memorial

In 1936, Highland Park veterinarian Dr. Stephen R. Elkow and his brother, Cornell Elkow, established the Happy Hunting Grounds Memorial Park for Pets at the corner of Eleven Mile and Milford roads in South Lyon. Cornell Elkow served as the caretaker of the cemetery, which was located on a shaded corner of his farm. In 1946, area residents raised $3,700 to erect a 16-ton granite monument to military working dogs in the pet cemetery and dedicated it on August 4 of that year. When a retired military dog and World War II veteran named Sparks died in 1947, his owner, John Patterson of Rochester, asked to have him interred at the base of the newly-dedicated war dog monument. Sgt. Sparks, a former member of the Marine First War Dog Platoon, had served 28 months in the Pacific Theater in places such as Guadalcanal and Okinawa. He became the first military canine to be laid to rest in the pet cemetery.

In 2011, about two decades after Cornell Elkow's death, Vietnam War veteran Phil Weitlauf discovered the forgotten and overgrown pet cemetery with its war dog monument and decided to step forward to lead an effort to clean up the neglected site. Military veterans and dog lovers from the South Lyon area worked for more than two years to restore the grounds. Out of this work, the Michigan War Dog Memorial, Inc., was formed and the cemetery was transformed into a place of honor for Military Working Dogs, law enforcement dogs, and service dogs. Numerous monuments and memorials have been installed at the site to honor canine heroes, including an engraved granite wall that honors military dogs that served in Vietnam and were left behind.

Military, law enforcement, and service K-9s are now laid to rest at the memorial with honors. A special military honors service is rendered for Military Working Dogs (MWDs). The elements of the service were devised by the Michigan War Dog Memorial organization, since the Department of Defense had no specific guidance on the matter of MWD burials. The service includes a bagpiper, a color guard, a German shepherd escort, invocation, biography, presentation of a folded flag to the handler, the playing of "Taps" and "Amazing Grace," and a K-9 salute to their fallen comrade by the German shepherd escort.

According to founder Weitlauf, although there are more than 30 war dog memorials across the country, only two sites offer burials: one in Hartsdale, New York, and the Michigan War Dog Memorial in South Lyon.

Pickering, Jack. "Plan Monument to War Dogs," Detroit Times, July 11, 1946, p.2.

"War Dog Monument Dedication is Aug. 4," Detroit News, July 22, 1946, p.14.

Beltaire, Mark. "Canine War Hero Buried on Fourth," Detroit Free Press, July 5, 1947, p.16.

Kenyon, Norman. "Pets Live on in Memory," Detroit Free Press, June 19, 1955, p. 17.

Dudar, Hassan. " Marine Dog Cena Laid to Rest," Detroit Free Press, August 27, 2017, p.4A.

"Memorial Wall Erected in South Lyon to Honor War Dogs," The Oakland Press, July 6, 2017.