Alain Delon’s wish to be buried alongside his pet dog has been overruled by his family, who have confirmed the dog will “not be euthanised”.
The legend of French New Wave cinema died on Sunday (August 18) at the age of 88. A statement confirmed that he “passed away peacefully in his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and his family”. Delon had been in poor health in recent years and had become reclusive in his later life.
One of his wishes was that after his death, his beloved 10-year-old dog Loubo, a Belgian malinois, would be humanely put down and laid alongside Delon in his grave.
This caused an outcry from animal rights activists, with the charity Société Protectrice des Animaux saying that “the life of an animal should not depend of that of a human”. They added they would be “happy to take his dog and find it a family”.
Now, Delon’s daughter Anouchka has reassured the public that the dog would be staying with the family and definitely not be put down.
Pas d’inquiétude pour Loubo !
Vous êtes nombreux à nous avoir envoyé des messages concernant l’avenir de Loubo, le chien d’Alain Delon.
“Il a sa maison et sa famille” nous ont confirmé les proches de l’acteur qui en prendront soin. Loubo ne sera bien sûr pas euthanasié ! pic.twitter.com/pZtUYSkalr
— Fondation Brigitte Bardot (@FBB_Officiel) August 20, 2024
The Foundation Brigitte Bardot, a high-profile French animal charity quoted Anouchka as saying “he has his home and his family”, and the charity added: “Loubo will of course not be euthanised!”
Delon had told Paris Match magazine in 2018 that he had owned 50 dogs in his life, “but I have a special relationship with this one. He misses me when I’m not there”.
“If I die before him I will ask the vet to let us go together. He will inject him so that he dies in my arms. I would rather that than knowing that he would let himself die on my grave with so much suffering,” he said.
Delon was a major star in the golden age of French cinema, particularly in the ’60s, often stepping into tough guy roles in films such as The Samurai, Borsalino, The Leopard and Rocco and his Brothers. He was even once described as “the most beautiful man in the movies”, even though he never quite made it into Hollywood.
His roles became less frequent from the 1990s and he hadn’t been seen in public since 2019 when he received an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. There, he delivered an emotional speech that was interpreted as him bidding farewell to cinema.
President Emmanuel Macron is among those paying tribute, saying Delon “made the world dream” and was not just a star but “a French monument”.
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