A former senior executive with retail giants Tesco and New Look is launching a new venture as a pet bereavement counsellor.

Businesswoman Tracey Peters says there is a gap in the market that desperately needs filling and has set up Dorset-based Pets Past and Present to do just that.

Tracey said: “There are numerous services to help people when they lose a loved one. But it has dawned on me that actually there is very little in the way of help and support when pets die.

“I have been training as a bereavement counsellor for five years and I have worked with many different client groups, and it just struck me that there didn’t seem to be anything much for people grieving over their pets.

“As an animal lover and someone who has had pets all her life, I thought that was a bit odd and that it was something that really needed addressing."

One experience in particular was key in her decision to establish the service, she said.

“I was counselling an elderly gentleman with cancer and we spent the first three sessions talking about nothing but his cat.

“So I went to see if I could find him some specialist support and I realised there really wasn’t any.”

Tracey added: “If you think about it, anyone who has a pet probably has to face up to the prospect of losing them at some stage and that can be absolutely devastating.”

Tracey is currently working with the College of Animal Welfare to develop a course for veterinary nurses.

The name Pets Past and Present has been deliberately chosen to reflect how animals remain part of their owners’ lives, even after they have passed.

Tracey’s career includes being second in command in human resources at New Look and a personnel manager at Tesco.

She has also worked for Reuters and still runs an HR business consultancy advising among others, the NHS.

For more information, visit petspastandpresent.co.uk or facebook.com/petspastpresent