Ria Wong paid the refuge a visit.

VISIT Pam Mansfield and as you walk to the front door you will be greeted by a pack of bouncing, barking pet dogs... and Diego the cheeky nine-month-old white llama.

Pam runs the Exotic Pet Refuge, and while she loves the more conventional pet, she is also mum to animals of all shade and stripe from across the globe.

Basically, if someone has a pet monkey or alligator that they no longer want, Pam will take them in. She receives no outside funding, and does it all for love.

Finding the refuge is something of a mission itself, as it is hidden away in deepest, rural Deeping St James.

But making the effort to find it is well worth the trip, because it is home to some of Lincolnshire's quirkiest characters, including 30 different species of monkey, Inca the interbred lynx and George the Mississippi alligator.

For as long as she can remember, 57-year-old Pam has dedicated her life to caring for any stray or waif animals which find their way to her door.

It's even been a long time since self-proclaimed "bonkers" Pam went on holiday or even had a break that did not involve an animal of some kind.

Her most recent holiday was nine years ago in Scotland with her late husband Mel, a trip she used to pick up a couple of primate companions on the way.

"We were both stupid over animals, if we weren't it probably wouldn't have got this far," she said. "I'd always liked birds but never thought I'd have monkeys."

Open day:
The next Exotic Pet Refuge open day is on Sunday, July 20.
The refuge is at 102 Station Road, Deeping St James.
Entrance costs £4 for adults, £2 for children, and parking is free but no dogs please. For more information call, Pam on 01778 345923 or visit www.exoticpetrefuge.org.uk.
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Officially founded in 1985, the refuge began to take shape some nine years earlier when Pam and Mel began to think seriously about looking after animals.

"Someone came to us one day with a small injured bird and it all snowballed from there," reminisces Pam, surrounded by her army of young volunteers sitting around eating sandwiches and petting the most adorable kittens.

The refuge is a stark warning to anyone thinking of buying an exotic pet – these creatures often need time, care and money that is simply too much of a burden for some people.

And even zoos sometimes give Pam a call when they no longer need or want an animal. For example, Doris the friendly 58-year-old Ground-hornbill bird was passed on to Pam after a London zoo didn't want to put her on show because she has a deformed foot.

Blaming shows such as Friends in which Ross adopts capuchin monkey Marcel, Sam Greenhill, (23) an volunteer since the age of 14, explains that temperaments change when the animals hit puberty, which causes them to become increasingly unpredictable as natural instincts take over.

Rocko, a cute and harmless-looking hand-reared black and white ruffed lemur arrived at the refuge after he attacked his owner giving him 27 stitches to the face.

And the "pet dumping" situation looks set to worsen, as a lot of animals have recently been struck off the list for the need of an exotic pet licence.

"Dangerous dogs have been in the news a lot, but now you are able to walk a racoon or porcupine down the road on a lead," said Sam.