Voices: Was Alain Delon so wrong to want his (very much alive) dog to be buried with him?

It was the final wish of French actor Alain Delon , who has died at the age of 88, that he wanted his faithful dog Loubo to be buried alongside him in his grave. The only problem? His 10-year-old fluffy Belgian Malinois is still very much alive and kicking.

Delon’s final wish was that his dog be “put to sleep” so they might be together in death. As he told Paris Match in 2018: “If I die before him, I’ll ask the vet to take us away together.” He added: “He’ll put him to sleep in my arms. I’d rather do that than know that he’ll let himself die on my grave with so much suffering.”

But his family – who announced Delon’s death on Sunday and mentioned how they and Loubo were “deeply saddened” by his passing – have since denied their father of his last request, after an outcry from animal rights campaigners .

The truth is, it’s made me contemplate my own fears. While Delon’s death and the fate of his lapdog is playing out rather like a French farce, I’m dreading finding out what my own late father might have requested as his last wish.

My dad died only a few weeks ago – it’s still incredibly raw for me, as must Delon’s passing be for his family. It happened in the early hours of a Saturday morning. I held his hand as he took his last breath and, despite his old age of 91, nothing could have prepared me for the shock. But now, quite frankly, I’m wondering if there’s worse in store – for the family pet?

I’ve not yet seen his final will and, after l’affaire Delon , I’m rather dreading opening that envelope we might find in the cabinet of his office.

I’d like to think we’d respect my dad’s wishes no matter what – but euthanising our pet dog Muggles would be the final straw at such an upsetting time. I don’t believe my dad would have wanted that for his beloved dog… but, like Delon, he could be eccentric.

The situation with my half-siblings is already fractious and highly dysfunctional. Will my dad somehow reunite the family from beyond his grave? Or will he use his passing as a means to lob a missile or two, like he used to do over Sunday lunches?

It is entirely possible that his last wishes will be typically unconventional. Will he want a memorial service that involves a tricky clamber down the cliffs of a small Cornish cove as the sun sets? Or that at his funeral the mourners each wear his favourite colour, orange, so we all look like prison inmates?

Will there be a clause in the will that we all have to meet up once a month for the rest of our lives or we get no money? That we all must have a terse final surf on the family’s old-fashioned wooden boards in the freezing sea?

Or, even worse, could we find ourselves on a canal boat holiday, attempting to relive the happy memories of our childhood as we scatter his ashes in a remote spot of his choosing?

I’m sure that Alain Delon’s request to be buried with his dog was done with good intentions. And he’s not alone in having his pet-related last request ignored by the loved-ones he left behind.

The late American businesswoman Leona Helmsley , dubbed “queen of mean”, made headlines in 2007 when she left a $12m trust fund to her aptly named Maltese dog, Trouble. After a legal battle over the distribution of her wealth, its payout was reduced to $2m, and her disinherited grandchildren got some money after all.

I don’t know what to expect from my father by way of last request. But he had a great sense of humour. I only hope he doesn’t try to have a last laugh from beyond the grave.