Around 23 years ago, I lost three loved ones in a very short space of time: my husband Desi (the award-winning documentary maker Desmond Wilcox), my mother, and my dog Marmite. Of the three, the best death was Marmite’s. Although he didn’t realise it, Marmite had inoperable cancer. It was not a difficult decision for us to arrange a good death for him. On his last morning, he had two breakfasts, a lovely long walk, and then a quick and painless death in his home surrounded by those who loved him