And of course dad being dad, the burial of a beloved family pet became more like a state funeral with music, eulogies, toasts, an aluminium coffin, a straight sided hole dug out (not six foot deep for the average height of  a human two foot deep for the average height of a dog), and, completely unrelated but while we're at it, a Time Capsule, which had been featured on Blue Peter that week and the preserving of personal items to be found in the future had intrigued Larry.
His father got particularly excited about the Time Capsule (in actual fact a Quality Street tin), and urged Larry to cram it with as many of his treasured possessions as possible, but Larry was reluctant, he didn't want to bury his good stuff, he preferred to keep it.
They settled on two Boomtown Rats 45s (Rat Trap and I Don't Like Mondays), all if last seasons Panini Soccer Star swapsies, a torn segment of a Star Wars poster, last weeks Look-In and Shoot! magazine, and a paperback of James and the Giant Peach. Dad insisted they add the days newspaper (so the finder can date the time of burial) and a family photo with their full names (so they're ancestors could be contacted in the future).
The Time Capsule went in first, then his beloved dog Voo, inside his coffin, wrapped up in his mums old scarves on the outside and cling film on the inside. His parents had allowed twelve year old Larry to "prepare the body" in private, and he had snuck the cling film in to stop the worms eating Voodoo then made sure the neck scarves covered all of the clear preserving plastic. The mummified dog's body was then placed in the make-shift aluminium tool box/coffin.
At the graveside, before the funeral officially started Larry asked for a pad lock to secure the latch.
"You don't need a pad lock Lawrence," his dad insisted, "it's a dead dog, not Harry Houdini."
"It would be better if it were locked though dad," Larry pleaded. To his eyes it was a necessity, every one knew coffin lids were nailed down, then Voo should have was a pad lock.
"You're being bloody stupid," dad snapped, "I've already given you a perfectly good tool box, I’m not wasting a pad lock as well!"
That was too much for Larry, who burst into tears and fulfilled his duty through out brief ceremony but sobbed from start to finish.