New York, May 17 (IANS) A woman in New York, reputed to be a "sorceress", has a unique profession. She makes mummies of other people's pets and "helps" them remember their loved ones.

P.D. Cagliastro, a resident of Brooklyn, has provided her services to 120 customers, preserving everything from a racing pigeon to cats killed in car accidents, the New York Post reported.

Cagliastro spent 20 years studying animal mummification based on ancient Egyptian art. She studied embalming, consulted chemistry students and read many ancient Egyptian texts.

"It was a sick fascination," said Cagliastro, who lives with her teenage daughter and husband, who works as an insect-killing expert.

Cagliastro removes the animal's organs and dries out the rest by submerging it in a salt mixture for months. The smelly remains are then scraped out.

After wrapping and plastering, the form is painted. Some customers choose to place the pet in a decorative box or have gems and gold affixed to the remains. The services cost between $100 and $400.

Cagliastro has mummified a tarantula, a caiman crocodile and snake eggs.

Heart-broken men make up 70 percent of her business, she said.

"When my cat died, I had supreme sadness. I was completely destroyed by it," said Turner, a 55-year-old businessman who refused to disclose his last name for fear of being ridiculed.

Cagliastro mummified his cat and mounted it on a black velvet cushion, and Turner keeps it in a glass cabinet.

"It's very personal. Even people I know well, I can't say that this is my mummified cat in the corner. They would think you are crazy," he explained.

Cagliastro's dream is to mummify a human, and she has already got "plenty of interest" from those looking to be immortalised, she said.

The mummy-maker also teaches at a class at the Observatory gallery in Brooklyn.