GRIEVING animal lovers could soon be reunited with their beloved pets after their deaths.

Pet Haven Burial Services is hoping to gain a licence to be able to bury owners next to their pets at its cemetery at Kelloe, in County Durham.

The company has applied to Durham City Council for permission to carry out the burial service at its one-acre cemetery, where 40 pet burials have already been carried out.

Pet Haven decided to apply for the licence after receiving requests from a number of pet owners who said that their final wish would be to be buried next to their animals.

Pet funerals at the cemetery are similar to the ceremony for humans, with the body lying in rest in the casket before burial.

The company offers to record the funeral on a video, and owners can choose from a variety of styles and colours in headstones and crosses.

Rabbits, dogs, cats and horses are already buried there, and 36-year-old owner Linda Evans said that the service was in great demand.

She said: "I think there's a great need for this, because at the moment vets just tend to recommend cremation and that's not always what the owners want.

"We provide a great service and dress the animals up in their best collar and bury their toys with them, and some owners want to join them when they die."

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