As a small girl, Tanya Caltabiano would care for the animals on her family's apple orchard during the day, and head inside to watch Doctor Harry Cooper on the telly at night.
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If ever there was a woman destined to become a veterinarian, it was Tanya - and now the 27-year-old is vying for the chance to become the nation's next high-profile television vet.
Tanya is currently ranked seventh in Network Ten's search for the next Bondi Vet, and has just a few short weeks to secure enough votes to put her in first place.
"A couple of my friends and I had always joked about it over the years, they always thought I'd make a good TV vet," Tanya laughed.
"And then Channel 10 put a call out on the Bondi Vet Facebook page and I just applied. I never thought I'd be in the top 50 from over 7500 applicants."
A much-loved vet at Inner South Veterinary Centre in Narrabundah, Tanya grew up on an orchard in Orange, NSW, and moved to Canberra last July after completing her six-year veterinary degree.
"I'd been here a couple of times over the last few years and I was feeling like it was changing and I just really loved it - so I looked for work here and started at Inner South in September," she said.
"I love my job. It's a combination of surgery and consulting throughout the day and on top of that we have all sorts of emergencies that come in - every hour is different.
"You never really know what you're going to get thrown with. We see a lot of exotics at Inner South like snakes, birds, guinea pigs and rabbits, and on top of that we see cats and dogs and regular pets as well.
"It's the best job."
Tanya said she's hoping to become a host on Bondi Vet to help educate people on how to care for animals and to spread her passion for veterinary science into Australian lounge rooms.
"I grew up watching Katrina Warren and Doctor Harry Cooper and I loved how passionate they were and the way that they showed the world how much they love their job," Tanya said.
"It would be a really great way to showcase how great our industry is, and to help people and animals at the same time."
A comment on the Bondi Vet website reads: "Fabulous with animals and people alike, beautiful inside and out! She really cares about her job and her patients, she would be fantastic to watch and teach us all about animal health!"
To vote for Tanya to become the next Bondi Vet, head to https://bondivet.com/vet-search/tanya-caltabiano
Voting closes June 30 2017.
