From a dog-lover's perspective Cheyenne Potter has, arguably, the best job in the world.
She's the woman behind Pawty Time Puppy Parties, which means that when she's not working her "day job" caring for the elderly, she is a canine party planner.
The idea came about when she was living on the Gold Coast and decided to host a party - or pawty, as she calls it - for one of her dogs.
"It was the 28th of February, 2021, and I threw a pawty for my dog Winnie's second birthday," she explains.
"I ordered a dog-friendly cake from a lady in the area and decided to go to Kmart to get a few party supplies.
"My partner and I set up a cute pink-themed birthday in our dining room. This included a pink birthday cake, pink cupcakes for humans as well as some pink party supplies.
"I took a few photos and sent them to my mum. She said to me 'Cheyenne, what a great business idea!' and it all started from there."
It was a lightbulb moment for Cheyenne. She did some research and discovered there weren't any other businesses on the Gold Coast planning parties for dogs. Nor, it seems, in dog-loving Newcastle where she now lives.
Pawty Time Puppy Parties offers two packages for dog owners and their furry friends.
"Welcome to the Pawty is our first package and it is a basic theme of either pink or blue," Cheyenne says.
"Our second package is called That's So Fetch and it's a bit more extreme. It includes our most popular theme, Hawaiian, as well as our Fiesta theme. Both of these packages have an awesome range of inclusions."
She says her (human) clients tend to be couples or singles rather than families.
"To be honest anyone who has a dog and treats them like their own child comes to us for a pawty."
And she has catered for some unusual client requests during her time in business, including one of her own.
"Having a Winnie the Pooh pawty for my own dog Winnie was a really fun theme to plan because I wanted it to have the 'Hundred Acre Wood' vibe, exactly like where Winnie the Pooh lives," Cheyenne says.
"Most of the party props were DIY including some very cute 'hunny' pots I made for the table decorations.
"Another awesome request was a Prince party, as in Purple Rain Prince, as the customer really loved the artist Prince and coincidentally her dog's name was also Prince."
Cheyenne and her partner Sonny - who have two French bulldogs, Frankie and Winnie - moved to Blacksmiths from the Gold Coast in July and she says is it is "probably the best decision we have made".
"Not only do we have family here but we love the laidback lifestyle Newy has to offer," she says.
"I haven't hosted a pawty in Newcastle yet, but I am readier than ever to start pawtying with you all."
