Lara Visits Rebekah of Sunnybrook Farm

When Lara was examined by Dr. Bausone the first time, he referred us to Rebekah Peterman of Sunnybrook Farm Holistic Pet Care in Encinitas. I followed up and arranged to meet with her last week.

Upon arrival, Lara and I were greeted by Rebekah’s dogs - Ranger, Cassie and Fancy - and two goats - Honey and Lil’ Goat. It really was like a small farm in the middle of Encinitas. As Rebekah and I exchanged "hellos" there was immediate recognition. A few years ago we used to chat at an off-leash dog park as our animals played. About the same time a friend in Del Mar highly recommended Rebekah to me as a pet sitter.

Since then Rebekah opened her Sunnybrook Farm, a reference to the family farm in Pauma Valley where she says she learned to care for creatures. She offers a wide variety of services from energetic screening to acupressure, Reiki, aromatherapy, flower essences, healing stones, homeopathy, individualized diet screening, non-anesthetic teeth cleaning, daycare and boarding. Dr. Bausone recommends her cooking classes to his patients.

Rebekah began the session by picking up a small pendulum to perform an energetic screening on Lara.

Pendulum dowsing, also called "divining," is known for its ability to gather information using simple questions. The pendulum is thought to be a powerful antenna that receives information from the vibrations and energy waves emitted by the pet.

Albert Einstein, who used dowsing, attributed its powers to electromagnetism, the same force that causes birds to migrate using the earth's magnetic field. Leonardo De Vinci and Gen. George Patton were also dowsers.

"I developed my own dowsing technique using a series of charts that enables me to obtain information from sources such as glands and organs to auric fields and meridians," Rebekah said. “The priority information I gather assists the owners in dealing with everything from behavior issues to constipation and diarrhea."

After the assessment, Rebekah concluded that Lara was suffering emotional pain. She explained that this was most likely due to the premature loss of her puppies.

"She's also been hurt by a young person in her life who doesn’t have much time for her," she added.

Rebekah coaxed Lara to her "dog couch" to begin acupressure.

“I used specific points on the meridian that helped to shift blocked energy in the gallbladder, spleen and conception vessel,” she said.

Rebekah also used Reiki, a Japanese healing technique that releases stress and tension while unlocking the healing potential of the body.

Lara appeared to be quite responsive, relaxing and even leaning into Rebekah as she worked on her. After a few minutes Lara seemed to slip into a trance. Rebekah said this is not unusual.

“I had a greyhound who looked like she needed to have a cigarette after her hands-on treatment,” she said laughing.

To promote healing, Rebekah suggested introducing more raw fruits and vegetables into Lara’s diet. She also recommended using flower essence to reduce the emotional effects of being teased about her weight. Finally, she suggested using an iodine supplement for thyroid health, a recommendation also made by Dr. Bausone.

Rebekah practices what she preaches. Several years ago she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. It evolved into hypothyroidism after undergoing radioactive iodine therapy.

"I took synthetic medicine and finally decided that I wasn't going to live like that," she said.

Since then she has been able to manage her thyroid using natural medicine.

For more information about Rebeka's services call (760) 230-0748 or visit SunnybrookFarmHolisticPetCare.com.