Rebeca Berni
Hi, my name is Rebeca and I am the owner of Cottage Spa. I am a LMP (Licensed Massage Practitioner) and SAMP (Small Animal Massage Therapist). I am a member of SODA and AMTA. I am also a graduate of the Northwest School of Animal Massage.
I became interested in Canine Swim Therapy when I adopted my dog Balou in 2002. I had owned him for only two weeks but he was limping very badly and sometimes crawled around on his front paws. The x-rays showed he had partial ACL tears in both knees. Wanting to take more time to bond with him, I looked to see if there were alternative therapies to surgery that might help him get better. I discovered swim therapy. Due to swim therapy, he recovered quickly and his pain went away. I am very happy to say he can run and jump without problems now.
Having been through five car accidents and three cases of whiplash myself, I had received massage and physical therapy for several years. I am a strong believer in naturopathic medicine because of its benefit to me. After working in the high-tech field for over a decade, I wanted a change and to find a field that would enable me to heal other lives. I went back to school in 2001 and got my LMP license. At that time the state was just setting new regulations for licensed small animal practitioners. I did my final project in massage school on canine massage and even brought in my dog to do a demonstration. A few years later I got my Small Animal Endorsement and started to learn water therapy. Soon after, I opened Cottage Spaw in June 2004.
Member IAAMB - International Association of Animal Body workers
Member CAWT - Canine Association of Water Therapy