Are you ready to Pawty?

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — It's a pet pawty and they can howl if they want to!

Samantha Mendoza, the owner of PawPaw Barkery and Meowery, started her business in 2021 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mendoza was in veterinarian tech school before the pandemic, but had to move back home from Abeline, Tx, because she had to be fully employed to continue schooling. However, at the time, no vet clinics were hiring.

She credits her time as a vet tech for giving her the knowledge to include clean and animal-safe ingredients in her pastries.

"I knew for a fact I wanted to work with animals in general," Mendoza said. "Luckily, being in vet tech school always helped with recipes, as far as nutrition and what is good and what is safe for dogs."

Mendoza currently makes treats and cakes for pet gender reveals, retired K-9 officers and "last pawty" rainbow cakes for the furry friends that are going to cross the rainbow bridge.

She is hoping to reach out to wedding venues to cater their events and make pet packages for guests to take treats to their furry friends.

Mendoza currently operates out of her home and relies on orders via Instagram and Facebook.

Her prep consists of going to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients she needs because she makes it all from scratch and the same day.

Mendoza's end goal with the business is to open a pet motel that includes grooming, boarding and training and much more.

"I do plan to expand. I'm not 100% sure if I'm gonna start off small because I do want to more than just a bakery. I also want to own a pet boarding facility so when owners go out of town they have a place that they know is safe for their dogs to stay for the weekend," she said. "I want to have a training facility with trainers, grooming, I just want to have it all."

The difference between her pastries and ones sold in pet stores is that she uses all-natural human-grade ingredients, does not use preservatives and chemicals in her treats. She uses all natural ingredients to sweeten her treats such as ripe bananas and raw honey.

Not only are her treats safe for pets to eat but they are also safe for humans to enjoy too.

"Personally for me, I wouldn't want to give anything to my dogs if I'm not able to eat it and with my treats if any of the owners want to go ahead and try the treats they definitely can," Mendoza said.

She not only caters to dogs and cats but is also planning to cater to horses in the near future.

Mendoza's passion for her business comes from a place of love for all animals.

"Everything I put into treats, cakes and pretty much anything in the future all comes from love," Mendoza said. "I love animals, all and any animals, even the ones that bite me, I still love them."

Mendoza tries to attend at least one local market a month to sell her treats.

She is currently working on a website where people can place their orders and potentially ship treats. But for now, you can reach Paw Paw Barkery and Meowery on its Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp pages.