Meet Rachel Toon
Your Therapist & Guide to Connection
Rachel’s path to becoming a counselor began with a deep desire to help others and led her to earn a counseling diploma from Kelowna College of Professional Counselors in an accelerated one-year program, originally a two-year course.
She now combines her expertise with her passion for animals, progressing through a certification in Animal-Assisted Intervention with Dreamcatcher Academy, where she integrates therapeutic experiences with animals on her serene farm.
With over 20 years in Girl Guides and active volunteer work with Alberta Health Services at Oilfields Hospital, Rachel brings warmth, empathy, and a commitment to community. Her therapy dog, Tala, brings comfort to residents, while Rachel’s specialized certification in end-of-life planning offers compassionate support during transformative times.
Rachel welcomes you to explore counseling in a peaceful, nature-centered environment, where you’ll find space to connect and reflect.
Meet Our Team Of Animal Therapy Animals
Our animal therapy animals bring unique personalities, warmth, and a little mischief to every session, creating a safe and welcoming space for clients.
Tala, a 5-year-old Lab-Greyhound mix with gentle amber eyes and a sleek black coat.
Tala is our Alberta Health Services therapy dog who accompanies Rachel outside of Bluebird Acres to hospitals and paliative care facilities offering her gentle presence.
You will see her around the farm enjoying all the visitors.
Princess Tala-Roo
Lincoln
Lincoln, our 17-year-old Quarter Horse with a soft, dappled buckskin coat, proudly serves as a sentient to the counseling processes. He loves to stand with calm attention offering his medicine to those working on their mindful practices.
Chilli Chonkers
Chilli-Chonkers-the-Donkers adores showing off with playful jumps, snuggles, and head rubs at the "Chilli Chair" where clients can pet him over the fence. Although he’s still young and in training, Chilli’s goofy charm helps clients feel safe, teaching them about trust, boundaries, and the importance of unconditional love.
​​Pixie-Darling, Billy-Jean, and Tilly-Jolene are our 3 adorable goats here at Bluebird Acres.
They are a fantastic mix of energies. If you want a cuddle or to share your personal space with these
3 then you need to be calm and move quietly. They’re terrific at reminding us to slow down and
be aware of our bodies and how these 3 might see us. Treats always help, too.
The Goats
Cinder is our little dappled grey mini mare. She is 7 years old and came to us through Heel and Hoof Horse Rescue in Foothills County with our other mini, Maple-Marmalade. These 2 came from a very neglectful situation where their feet weren’t cared for, they were tormented, and their diet was terribly managed by people who just didn’t know how to properly care for miniature horses.
Cinder started out quite nervous of people, but curious. Her curiosity is probably why she is now so interactive with people and involved in activities on the farm. Cinder is kind and inquisitive and can be really funny.
Cinder is working on getting to a healthier weight and now knows how to walk nicely on a lead and is eager to learn more. After some major foot care Cinder’s feet are recovering from the extra long hooves and she has shown that her ligaments are recovering.
Cinder-Ellie
Maple is a 20 year old palomino mini mare. Maple came to us through Heel and Hoof Horse Rescue inFoothills County with our other mini, Cinder-Ellie. These 2 came from a very neglectful situation where their feet weren’t cared for, they were tormented, and their diet and health were terribly managed by people who just didn’t know how to properly care for miniature horses.
Due to an awful mismanagement of an infection we had to make the tough decision to have her eyes removed. Maple also had to lose a few rotten teeth and have her feet trimmed after they had been neglected.
It is so wonderful to see how well Maple is doing now that she is not in pain, she is loved, and cared for. She doesn’t move very fast and is a beautiful reminder to slow down and enjoy the moment.
Maple-Marmalade
Tumbleweed, Primrose, Daisy, and Bluebell are our neighbours miniature donkeys who are currently enjoying residing at Bluebird Acres. Their owners moved them here in the fall and we love having them. They have spent the first 20+ years of their lives living at the Banded Creek
Vet Clinic and have grown accustomed to seeing all sorts of people on a daily basis so they fit in here perfectly. Their sweet faces and funny brays welcome people with a smile.
The Mini Donkeys
Casey and Finnigan were both brought here at barely a couple days old when they couldn’t be cared for by their own mothers. Now they are 2 years old and love life here. Raised in the garage and bottle fed they have no concept of personal space and come to anyone who might have treats or give them a head scratch. Since they were little, I have been taking them to visit with residents of different long-term care facilities in the area and they loved it. They have volunteered at Healthcare Heros day as well and brought a lot of smiles to the various healthcare workers they visited with. A regular in local selfie shots.
The Sheep
Yes, they all have names but I wont list all 20+ of them here for you. Some are purebreds brought here for a better genetic pool, some were just dropped here by a stranger, and others I hatched myself. We love our free range chickens and love their gorgeous eggs even more.
Our chickens follow people around all over the farm and love to see what goodies you might have for them. They bring a lot of laughs and smiles and there is something so regulating by just sitting quietly and listening to them chirp and chortle to each other.
The Chickens
Quartz is our resident barn cat. He is 6 years old now but when he was 4 he just decided to live here. We caught him and took him to the vet for a check up and found out he was tatood by a local rescue but was never adopted. So he must have escaped his foster home and found his way to us here. He has customized access to our crawl space as well as a heated house so he is a happy boy now. He is very shy but rewards those who are patient enough with a lot of snuggles.
Smokey Quartz
Badger and his sister Lucy came to us when Bluebird Acres fostered a mother dog and her 7 pups. The other 5 have found new homes but Badger and Lucy stayed here with us. They are 4 years old now. Badger has an abundance of love to give; so much so that he can knock people over sometimes and has to be reminded to give space. His favorite thing to do with visitors is show them his toys. Badger and Lucy don’t come out of the back yard when we haveclients at this point but still offer their special medicine to the environment.
Badger-Bear
Lucy is our beautiful 3-legged girl. Lucy and her brother Badger came to us when Bluebird Acres fostered a mother dog and her 7 pups. The other 5 have found new homes but Badger and Lucy stayed here with us. They are 4 years old now. Lucy has really strict boundaries when it comes to her personal space. These are great lessons for us all to learn. Lucy doesn’t come out from the yard when clients are here but still shares her medicine with her stories.
Lucy-Soda-Pop
Our approach
We offer a truly bespoke therapy services designed custom for you, all set in our tranquil and beautiful environment.
Our tailored approach ensures that your specific needs are met, providing a safe and nurturing space for personal growth and healing. Experience the perfect blend of comfort and professionalism, where your journey is our priority.