Meet the animal lovers whose newest pet is a RACCOON who loves going for walks

From a distance Phill Kirby’s furry pet looks like any other four-legged friend.

But Phill has turned more than a few heads with his unlikely companion - a six-month-old raccoon called Zella.

Phill’s unusual pet needs a daily constitution just like any dog.

His partner Liz, with whom he runs a children’s pet party company, said Zella loves chocolate - but also eats dog food.

She said: ‘She's a bit like a dog - she needs to be walked, although we never get very far because we get stopped all the time.

'We get some funny looks and a lot of people ask what on earth is she but normally people think she's really cute.

'She's a bit nervous of strangers but we take her for walks to socialise.

'We took her to Scarborough once and tried to take her to the beach but we couldn’t get near the sea because she was stopped by so many people.

'Some people think she's a dog and others say they want a raccoon of their own but I tell them owning one is hard work.

'It's like having a baby who's just learning to walk. You can't leave ornaments out because she'll knock them all over. She loves shiny things and is very tactile.

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'She's very loving and she likes sitting on your knee and having her tummy tickled.'

Raccoons, which are native to North America, can grow to 28 inches long and weigh up to 20lbs.

Mum-of-three Liz, 48, who bought Zella on the internet, added: 'She also eats mainly dog food, although she has fruit and veg too.

'She loves chocolate and if she smells it we have to run in to another room. We give her some chocolate as a special treat, but not too often because it's not good for her.

'She loves playing with my Jack Russell Toby and they just run around and play with each other which is good because they both burn off a lot of energy.

'Raccoons are very intelligent animals and she's very clever. She can get into everything, jam jars, drawers.

'You have to have eyes in the back of your head, or she’ll be going through your pockets. If you have money in your pocket she'll put her hand in and take it.

'She squeaks, barks, purrs, makes all sort of noises.'

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Liz and Phill used to run a pet shop and set up their Noah's Ark party firm after closing it to find a new use for all their animals.

They share their home with 20 pets including a skunk called Pebbles, an owl called Nigel, a monkey called Taboo and a tortoise called Catch-Up.

They also have a Toby the 11-month-old Jack Russell and geckos, bearded dragons, a tarantula and three cats.