Late actor Alain Delon’s dog saved from euthanasia after activists’ outcry
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Alain Delon, who had dozens of dogs during his lifetime, had said he wanted his final pet Loubo put down and buried with him when he died.
PHOTO: AFP
PARIS – Alain Delon’s pet dog Loubo will not be put down and buried with the French film star as he wanted, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation said on Aug 20 following an outcry from animal rights activists.
Delon, who died on Aug 18 aged 88, had said he wanted the Belgian malinois to be humanely killed and buried with him. But the foundation quoted Delon’s family as saying the wish would not be carried out.
“Do not worry about Loubo,” said the foundation, named after former film idol Brigitte Bardot and dedicated to animal protection, in a post on social media platform X.
“Many of you have sent us messages concerning the fate of Loubo,” it added. “‘He has his home and his family’, the family of Alain Delon have confirmed to us and they will take care of him. Loubo will, of course, not be euthanised.”
Delon had announced in 2018 that he wanted to be buried with the dog.
“He is my end-of-life dog. A Belgian shepherd whom I love like a child,” he told Paris Match magazine.
“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.”
Loubo was among the names given when the family announced Delon’s death on Aug 18.
“Alain-Fabien, Anouchka, Anthony, as well as Loubo, are deeply saddened to announce the passing of their father,” the actor’s children said in a statement.
Two of Delon’s sons also posted on social media on Aug 20. Actor Anthony Delon posted three photos of his father in his younger days, with the message “RIP Papa”.
Alain Delon’s youngest son, actor Alain-Fabien, put up pictures of wreaths left outside his father’s home at Douchy in central France, where he died. AFP
