Agent who has more than 40 exotic creatures at home, including snakes and a bearded dragon, says they are the ‘chaos crew’

An animal talent agent who has a personal “zoo” in her home with more than 40 exotic creatures, including snakes, lizards, geckos and a bearded dragon, has described them as the “chaos crew”.

Paula Stewart, who runs the Animal Talent agency, started adopting and fostering animals following the death of her father, Paul, in 2013, who was a “big animal lover”, as she “needed something extra to love”.

The 44-year-old, based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, who has no children and spends at least £400 per-month feeding and housing her pets, said she and her animals have “saved each other” – and many pets have even starred in commercials.

She said some of her animals have featured in adverts for 888 Casino and Foxy Bingo, and her dog Betty has gone on to model for Newcastle United Football Club, adidas and Pets at Home.

Looking after the animals alongside running her business is a full-time job, but Paula said the best thing about having these “amazing” pets is that she “never (feels) alone”.

Despite the “chaos” at home, she said the animals are “fun” and they remind her of her father every day.

“I think about him (her father) every single day,” she told PA Real Life.

“Every time I’m working with my animals, it reminds me of him because he loved animals so much.

“I sit with them and watch the television or, if I’m working from home, Georgie, my bearded dragon, will sit on my shoulder and watch me type, or he’ll sit on my laptop.

“I just feel like I learn something new every day about the animals, but also myself – they teach me so much about myself and what’s important in life.”

Paula said she grew up on a poultry farm and has always been around animals, but it was not until her father died of cancer in 2013 that she started adopting and fostering animals.

The Halifax resident said she bonded with her first rescue dog, Mitzi, which was on the “euthanasia list”, because of stomach conditions.

Paula has Crohn’s disease and Mitzi had colitis – an inflammation of the large intestine or colon – among other health problems.

She explained that looking after Mitzi helped her get over her father’s death, and she feels they “saved each other”, with the dog going on to star in a short film called An Everyday Act in 2019.

Paula has saved other animals too, including another rescue dog called Riley – an English mastiff crossbreed which had a brain tumour.

She said “nobody else would have him” and was told he would only live for another three months, but he ended up living for four years.

Paula also rescued an iguana, called Edwina, which she initially called Edwin before vets confirmed the correct sex.

She said Edwina “nearly died in (her) arms” the night she picked her up, due to neglect.

“The fact that she is alive is a miracle,” Paula added.

“The rehabilitation of Edwina the iguana is really amazing – to see her coming back to full strength.”

While fostering and looking after all these animals is extremely rewarding, it does not come without challenges and expense.

Paula said she spends at least £400 a month on food, bedding, and activities, such as taking her two dogs, Timmy and Betty, swimming.

This is before any vet bills are taken into consideration, which can cost hundreds of pounds per visit, and Paula even spent £3,000 on building an outdoor enclosure for her tortoise, Jeff.

Paula also has to have a licence to look after her exotic pets and is regularly assessed by the council.

But the animal talent agent has picked up many new skills along the way, such as foraging, and she will go out every day to pick plants, including weeds and flowers, for Jeff and the other animals.

She explained: “I have to forage for (Jeff’s) food, because he’s only allowed certain weeds and that sort of thing to eat, so I learned foraging for plants.

“Then I realised that I could transfer it onto other animals, and so I took in the lizards, and then it went from that to snakes, and then all of a sudden, there were so many.

“The last 12 years have literally spiralled, but I don’t think I am out of control.”

Paula currently lives with 17 pets and more than 30 fish – she has 11 indoor enclosures, two fish tanks measuring 4ft each and one outdoor enclosure, saying her home is “like a zoo”.

Her animals currently include: her dogs, Timmy, Betty and Chase; a cat called Cheetah; a tortoise called Jeff; a bearded dragon called Georgie; two lizards called Eric and Spike; four snakes called Andrei, Rocket, Candy and Keano; three geckos called Pepper, Porridge and Parsnip; Edwina the iguana; two hamsters plus tropical fish and goldfish.

She said that, surprisingly, lizards and snakes are “cuddly” and “super friendly”.

Her now deceased pets include Riley, which died in 2020; Mitzi which died in 2021; and two other snakes called Ronnie and Freddie.

Paula explained that after she started adopting animals, she was offered the opportunity to work with a friend in an animal casting agency as an animal manager, and she remained there for several years as a freelancer.

She said she “wanted to dedicate (her) life to animals”, and so she volunteered in her spare time for animal search and rescue organisations, at dog shelters, and raised money for animal-led charities.

But, by 2020, Paula felt it was time to start her own journey, and she founded her business, The Animal Talent – a casting agency placing animals for film, TV, print editorials, marketing and social media.

Several of Paula’s animals have starred in productions over the years, and she believes that any animal can be a star.

“I just felt that, with my new business, I wanted it to be a bit more ethical – how animals were handled on set,” Paula said.

“I think, in general, there’s very good practice in film and TV these days, but I felt like I could push it a bit further.”

For those who are considering fostering or adopting an animal, Paula said it is important to “do your research” as the animals, particularly exotic breeds, are a “massive financial investment”.

But she said that looking after animals which have been “abandoned and abused and burned and everything else” is extremely rewarding, adding: “They need help, too.”

To find out more, visit The Animal Talent website at theanimaltalent.agency.