Johnny Morehouse's grave and the touching story behind the creation of the tombstone (8 photos)
The tombstone at Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio, has become one of the most visited places in the cemetery and a landmark of sorts. After all, it tells a sad story about a lost little boy and his dog. 
In one of the most unusual graves at Dayton's Woodland Cemetery, a little boy remains under the reliable protection of a big friend, who seems to have hugged the baby with his paws. 
Five-year-old Johnny Morehouse was the youngest son of a local shoemaker and lived in Dayton in the 1860s. One day, the boy was playing with his dog near the Miami and Erie Canal when he suddenly tripped and fell into the water. The dog jumped in after him and tried to save his little owner, but to no avail. When the dog pulled Johnny out, he was already dead. 
The child was buried in Woodland Cemetery. The dog is said to have sat by the grave for weeks, waiting for Johnny and eating scraps given to her by sympathetic visitors. But eventually, her weakened body and the cold took their toll, and the faithful dog fell asleep forever on Johnny's grave. 
The parents, John and Barbara, buried the dog here so as not to separate the friends. And local sculptor Daniel LaDow created a poignant tombstone. 
Johnny's story is most likely remembered because of him. The sculpture is made in the form of a little boy cuddled up to the dog, surrounded by his favorite things and toys. Later, the parents and other family members were laid to rest here, but Johnny's tombstone remained special. 
Visitors, touched by such a tender monument, cannot pass by and leave gifts - toys, clothes and even money. Their cemetery workers collect and buy things and food for children in homeless shelters on behalf of little Johnny and his dog. 
Particularly impressionable citizens claim that when the gates close and the last visitors leave the abode of the dead, then behind the fence they hear Johnny's voice and the contented barking of his friend, left alone in eternity. 
