A dog cemetery in Western Australia's Wheatbelt is looking for new land to expand, before it runs out of burial plots.

The proud, erect head of a dog statue marks the entry to Corrigin Dog Cemetery, one of Australia's most unique memorials and emerging tourist attractions, 235 kilometres south-east of Perth.

Rows of graves behind the statue remember the names of more than 200 dogs from across the country that barked at heaven's door and were let in.

For Corrigin local Brett Connelly, the dog cemetery is the final chapter in Australia's love affair with dogs.

"When you think of Australia, every farmer, every station owner, everyone that has a ute has a dog on it, even in the city," he said.

"You've got Red Dog, stories of Aussies with their dogs. This is the end of the story right here."

There are more than 200 dogs buried at Corrigin Dog Cemetery. ( ABC Great Southern: Aaron Fernandes )

Letting sleeping dogs lie

The cemetery began in 1974 when local man Paddy Wright searched for a place to bury his beloved dog Strike.

The Shire of Corrigin sent the ex-serviceman 5 kilometres west of town along Brookton Highway.

"[The shire] said there's a bit of sand out there. It's nice and soft on the hill, put him out there," Mr Connelly said.

"Like all small towns, people noticed it and a few others decided they would bury their dogs there too.

"Next minute, you've got 20-odd dogs and a bit of a cemetery happening."

Brett Connelly is one of Corrigin's favourite sons and an organiser of the Dog in a Ute event. ( ABC Great Southern: Aaron Fernandes )

By the 1980s, local man Alan Henderson began putting headstones on the graves, for the fee of a bag of cement.

Then in 1992, the monument was added, placing the dog's head by the side of the highway to honour man's best friend.

That is when the tourist buses started pulling over.

"The dog cemetery wasn't put there as a tourist attraction. But it's developed into that," Shire of Corrigin deputy president Des Hickey said.

"It's part of what makes this an iconic spot. Tourist buses come through … people enjoy seeing what it's all about.

"It's an area that local people are very proud of."

The Corrigin Dog Cemetery will soon expand to cater for demand. ( ABC Great Southern: Aaron Fernandes )

Corrigin further entrenched its name into the history of human-dog relations in 2002 when it set a record by bringing together 1,527 dogs in utes.

Mr Connelly was one of the main organisers of the now iconic Dog in a Ute event.

"We were known as the town with the dog cemetery years before that, [but] everyone driving past it during the convoy made the cemetery a bit more known around Australia," he said.

"A lot of comments were made that when my dog dies, I want to come back here and bury him in Corrigin."

Ms Galbraith buried her Staffordshire terrier-cross Grizzles at Corrigin Dog Cemetery. ( ABC Great Southern: Aaron Fernandes )

Tribute to a special dog

Today, Corrigin Dog Cemetery has entombed more than 200 dogs.

June Galbraith, one of the many Corrigin locals who regularly visits the cemetery, buried her Staffordshire terrier-cross Grizzles there in 1997 — he now rests beneath a personalised marble headstone.

"Grizzles used to go over to my neighbour's place and pinch the apricots off the tree," she said.

"He used to get into all sorts of trouble. He was a lovely dog."

Ms Galbraith asked a nearby stonemason to erect the stone plate, which features a photo of Grizzles.

"I wanted something that would look nice because he was so special, he deserves it," she said.

"I stop quite often to have a check on his grave. Being close, I can come up and see him any time. It's not too far out of town."

There are now more than 200 dogs buried at the cemetery. ( ABC Great Southern: Aaron Fernandes )

Plans to bury more remains

Since the 1970s, dog owners from around Australia have been welcome to bury their best friends in the cemetery, and that is still true today.

But the burial plots are nearly full and plans are underway to expand the cemetery.

"We have a section that has been gifted by a local farmer right beside [the existing graves]. That is in process of being finalised," Mr Hickey said.

"It has taken a lot of years to nearly fill the existing section on the eastern side of the road. It's the piece on the western side that has been earmarked for the future."

Many graves have statues of dogs as a tribute. ( ABC Great Southern: Aaron Fernandes )

For Corrigin locals, the hope is the expanded cemetery will continue to draw tourists and ensure its status as Australia's premier dog town.

"We're in the middle of nowhere, we've got nothing else to brag about. We're not a touristy town and we don't pretend to be," Mr Connelly said.

"[But] the amount of people that you will see here on the weekend, just dropping in to have a look.

"It's just different, I guess."