Crossword Genius

Retire, drunk over loss of first pet (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

retriever

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'pet' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'retire drunk over loss of first' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
an anagram of 'retire' is 'retrie' which is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ver' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for retriever that I've seen before include "Breed of dog" , "Pet" , "Hound" , "Large gun-dog" , "Large hunting 11" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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