Thankfully Alain Delon’s family recognizes that it’s 2024, and not ancient Egypt.
On Tuesday, the loved ones of the French film icon confirmed that they will not fulfill his dying wish of having his dog, Loubo, euthanized and buried alongside him.
The prolific actor, who was considered an international heartthrob, died over the weekend at the age of 88.
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The Brigitte Bardot Foundation, a French animal organization, announced the news in a post on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this week. Per a translation by The Guardian, the group said Delon’s relatives have confirmed that the very much alive pooch “has his home and his family” and will not be euthanized.
Delon’s children also confirmed to CNN affiliate BFMTV on Tuesday that the dog will continue to live at their father’s residence.
Concern for Delon’s Belgian Malinois, whom the actor adopted in 2014 from a refuge, arose soon after Delon’s death, thanks to an interview the “Leopard” star gave to the magazine Paris Match in 2018 in which he shared his strange wish.
“He’s my end of life dog … I love him like a child,” Delon told Paris Match, per The Guardian. “I’ve had 50 dogs in my life, but I have a special relationship with this one. He misses me when I’m not there.”
“If I die before him, I’ll ask the vet to take us away together,” Delon went on. “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.”
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Several French animal rights groups voiced their concern for Loubo soon after the “Le Samouraï” star died.
France’s Society for the Protection of Animals was one of several animal welfare organizations that spoke out. On Monday, the group tweeted that although Delon was an “animal lover and defender of the cause,” they’d much rather take in and re-home Loubo than see the dog put down.
“The life of an animal should not depend on that of a human,” the group wrote, per The Guardian. “The SPA is happy to take his dog and find it a family.”
