REBECCA KESTLE

Hydrotherapist

Canine Hydrotherapy might sound like an unusual career choice for a young woman in her twenties but for me it was like finding that perfect pair of shoes that just fitted right. I slipped into it with ease, as if I had always been doing it. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have to learn or work for it, but I had the best tutors that had fountains of knowledge I found everything intriguing and I soaked up the information as if I where a sponge in a pool of water- oh the irony.

  After traveling in Australia I came home and decided it was time to have my own puppy. My research into Hydrotherapy began when my own Labrador Brody who got diagnosed with Bilateral Hip dysplasia at five months old. Confused and baffled by the rehabilitation process I wanted to do everything I could to help him. As an owner you automatically feel partly responsible for your pets discomfort. I now feel very fortunate to have experienced the rehabilitation process first hand with Brody; it’s given me a unique perspective as an owner and now as a hydrotherapist handling rehabilitation cases.  

After much research I discovered Hawksland Canine Hydrotherapy who where kind enough to offer me some work experience at their Centre. It was at this time under the guidance of Ros and David Boisseau that I learned so much about our canine companions and completely fell in love with hydrotherapy. 

   I decided to train as a hydrotherapist under the guidance of Sue Hawkins at Hawksmoor in Warwickshire, everyday is a learning curve, every moment is an opportunity to do better, no two animals are the same and it is because of this I believe in the therapy and the rehabilitation that I offer our patients to the highest standard possible. I will never stop learning and adapting techniques for our future patients.

​  Growing up in Cornwall I was very privileged to be surrounded by animals from an early age.  Animals are a part of the family and the house simply isn’t a home without them. Over the years our family home has been shared by many fury and not so fury creatures, everything from a Great Dane cross Doberman called Poppy to our tortoise Dennis and Darwin. My enthusiasm and passion for animals started with my Grandparents, the memories they had of past pets shared down through generations. My Granddad Ron kept a smallholding and also had an abundance of mixed breed and pure breed dogs over the years.

If someone said to me five years ago I would be working with rehabilitation dogs I probably would of looked completely bewildered. At this time I was finishing my art and design qualification and planning my gap year to Australia and even though animals have always been a strong part of my life I never thought I would go from drawing them to swimming them. But I’ve always been interested in the way animals move and the difference in their style of movement; each animal movement is a unique characteristic and reflection of their personal design and I feel very privileged to work with these animals and alongside their owners.

  This process has felt like along time coming, but every detail has been created planned and designed to fit various patient needs. I look forward to meeting all our new patients and their owners.