But there is also the possibility that your dog will guard your corpse and not let strangers or other animals near it (like Talero). And a lesser possibility that your dog will guard your grave until it dies [0].
Cats? They'll sit on your corpse to interview servants to replace you.
Curiously I went to school around the corner from the Greyfriars church yard and must have walked past the statue thousands of times. I noticed that the statue has been defaced in recent years by tourists touching its nose for good luck.
It's traumatic for the dog, too. Often, when someone with a dog is found dead, the dog will have bitten (or eaten) their face, in the hopes of waking up their owner.
> The dogs start biting and eating as a form of animal instinct. They notice you’re dead by your smell and lack of reaction, and they come and lick the unclothed areas to wake you up. If you’re dead and there’s no reaction, they switch and enter the next level—from licking to biting. That’s all. It is not a matter of hunger.
Cats? They'll sit on your corpse to interview servants to replace you.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby