Controversy is raging over a a former veteran's cemetery in California that's become something of a dog park.

Vets say that its disrespectful to those who served the country to have dogs running over their gravestones, to say nothing of defecating on them.

The site include the grave of Pvt. James Sumner, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in the 1860s for stepping in when Apache Indians kidnapped a settler's child. He died in 1912.

"Talk to any veteran, he will tell you it is a terrible thing. It's disrespectful," retired Marine Sgt. Craig "Gunny" Donor tells Fox News. Donor is trying to get the soldier's remains moved.

The former cemetery is close to downtown Ventura. Most of the graves have been moved and residents have adopted it as a park, jogging there and letting dogs play.

City leaders are reluctant to move the remaining graves, even Sumner's.

"We are treating him pretty darn well, except for the poop," parks and recreation commissioner Sharon Troll told the Ventura County Star. 

AP photo of the cemetery/park in California.