TERMS & CONDITIONS
Luxury Rabbit Boarding
We want to provide a comfortable, safe and caring environment for your pets during their stay with us.
Terms & Conditions are important for our business to run smoothly - but at the same time we don’t want to overwhelm you with too much to read - so we have decided on a more simple contract agreement.
1. APPOINTMENT TIMES
We are open 7 days a week and offer appointment slots at lunch time and tea time.
We know that unexpected things happen so please keep us updated if you are running late.
Please stick to the agreed appointment times. Our appointment slots are [12:30pm to 1pm] or [1pm to1:30pm] and [4:30pm to 5pm] and [5pm to 5:30pm].
Pets due to go home will be in their carriers ready for you at the start of your appointment slot.
Due to continued lateness interfering with the lodge routine or personal time - we have now introduced a late charge of £10 if you arrive when your slot has finished.
We close at 1:30pm each afternoon and 5:30pm each evening. If you miss our last closing time, when collecting your pets, you will be charged for a further nights stay.
We are closed for Drop-Off and Collections on all Bank Holidays.
2. FIRST TIME BOOKINGS
To confirm your booking we need your registration form (with your pets insurance details on) and proof of vaccinations WITHIN 3 DAYS OF YOUR ENQUIRY OR LAST POINT OF CONTACT WITH US.
If you want to go ahead it is up to you to PAY YOUR DEPOSIT AND SEND US THE DOCUMENTATION we need before the deadline, otherwise we will assume you have made other plans and the dates will be made available to another customer.
3. VACCINATIONS
All guests must be fully vaccinated, neutered/spayed and insured to stay with us. Vaccinations must be 'in date' for the duration of your pets holiday with us.
Your pets vaccination dates are noted on your booking and confirmation (so you can see if a booster is due before their holiday). We will not confirm your booking without vaccination dates.
If your pets booster vaccinations are overdue, their next injection is classed as first time vaccination and they will have to wait for their immunity to build up before we can board them.
Nobivac Myxo RHD takes 21 days and Yurvac takes 7 days. We don’t make exceptions.
4. SPAYED & NEUTERED
All guests must be spayed and neutered at least 6 weeks prior to boarding with us - to allow for the surgical site to heal & hormones to settle.
If you have a very young female they can board initially, but must be spayed for further stays. We do not board entire male rabbits of any age.
5. PET INSURANCE
Your pets needs a pet insurance policy in place to be able to board with us. A pet health plan with your vets is not an insurance policy.
6. VETS FORM
All questions on the vets form must be answered. Incomplete forms will be refused.
If you move house, change vets, change your phone number or your pet gets a new illness the vets form will need filling in again - so everything is up to date should your pet need to see a vet.
7. INDOOR V OUTDOOR
Our boarding is designed with House rabbits in mind. The lodge is heated during the cooler months and is unsuitable for rabbits who live in hutches & runs, aviary or unheated outdoor set-ups.
8. BOOKINGS
You pay for each day a suite is booked – which includes the day you drop your pets off and the day you take them home.
We have a minimum 4 day stay policy for all pet holidays booked in advance.
Christmas Day and Boxing Day are charged at double rate. We are closed every New Year due to fireworks.
We confirm all bookings that go into our diary.
9. ONE NIGHT BOOKINGS
Can only be booked 10 days or less before your pets sleepover. Prices start from £30 depending on peak or off-peak seasons and full payment is required upfront.
A simple bed and breakfast with evening greens. *Subject to availability. Not available over Bank Holidays due to being closed on these days for drop-off and collections.
The higher rate is due to the cleaning and disinfection of the suite and furnishings (including the time it takes for everything to be sterilised) after only one nights use, plus good hay that is discarded when your pet checks out - otherwise one night bookings are not cost effective to our small business.
10. DEPOSITS
A £30 deposit is now required for all bookings. This deposit is deducted from the total amount.
Deposits are to secure your dates and non refundable and non transferable to future bookings they cover the time we spend to manage your booking and lock it in.
The deposit payment link will stay active for 3 days, after this your booking will be cancelled.
Deposits are non refundable if we have to cancel your booking because we have not received the documentation we need (within 3 days for new customers) or vaccinations have lapsed and boosters have not been given on time to allow for immunity to have built up or incorrect information was given at the time of booking.
11. CANCELLATIONS BY YOU
Please let us know in writing, in plenty of time if you need to cancel your booking. If we haven’t taken a deposit (due to booking before that system was put in place) then you are still bound to our earlier T&C’s where we charged a £30 cancellation fee.
If you cancel a booking between the day of arrival and 14 days before the booked arrival date then the full amount is still due.
12. CANCELLATIONS BY US
If we have to cancel your booking because your rabbits arrive in ill health, *have seen a vet but are too sick to stay with us, vaccinations don’t comply with our policy or there is something you haven’t told us about before arriving or another situation where you are at fault - then any money paid is non-refundable or transferable to future dates - because at that late stage we can not offer the dates to another customer.
*For illness: We can send you a detailed invoice so you can claim any lost monies from your travel or pet insurance.
If we need to cancel your booking because of our own ill health or an emergency/situation that is out of our control (but not one of the above) then any money you paid us will be fully refunded - including your deposit.
13. CHANGES TO BOOKINGS
There is a £3.50 admin charge to change arrival and departure dates to your original booking. Subject to availability.
Changes to reduce days (*made within 14 days of the original arrival/departures dates) are still chargeable at the daily rate due to turning bookings away as your dates were in the diary.
If you have paid and your holiday is cut short or starts later than booked we don’t refund for days you don’t use.
* For example; if you change your arrival date by three days - you are cancelling days 1, 2 & 3 of your booking.
14. PAYMENTS
We send Monzo payment links to pay for your pets holiday. Payment is due 7 days before your drop off date. If your payment is late your booking may be cancelled and offered to another customer.
15. HEALTH
For the comfort of all our guests we only board healthy pets.
If your pet becomes ill after you have booked then you must let us know, so we can decide if we can still board them.
If you arrive with a sick pet - boarding will be refused and any money paid will not be refunded.
We are a holiday boarding facility and although we have a wealth of knowledge and first hand experience about rabbit illnesses & ailments we need to remind customers that I am not a vet nurse and this is not a nursing facility.
We can not board pets:
• Within 21 days of a sedation/general anaesthetic
• Who arrive with mites
• Who have a history of snuffles/pasteurella
• Who have an active EC (E. cuniculi) infection
• Who have a contagious condition (conjunctivitis being one)
• Turn up with medication, illness or new wound that has not been discussed with us beforehand
• Who have had GI stasis within 21 days (3 weeks) of boarding - a vets ‘fit to board note’ will be required to board with us along with the assurance that the cause of ileus has been addressed
• Who have had a past diagnosis of E.cuniculi - but not had 6 monthly treatments of panacur and a 9 day course of panacur before boarding
• Who’s vaccinations are due to run out during their holiday.
16. MEDICATION
If your pet needs basic medication during their stay this has to be discussed with us before you drop your pet off. There is a charge for this service.
Prescribed medicines must arrive in the packaging and bottle dispensed by your vets. You will need to fill in our medication form as requested by our insurance company.
A medicine that is given 8 hourly (3 times a day) with a dose being due in the middle of the night is not part of our service (usually prokinetic drugs) and in this case your rabbit will need boarding with meds at a veterinary surgery or hospital.
Giving medication to a pet that does not know us takes time & patience as not to put further stress on them. The charge for any oral medication, cream/ointment/salve, drops or cleansing an area is £1.50 per application. So cleaning an area then applying an ointment would be £3.00 per application.
17. E.CUNICULI & PANACUR
If your rabbit has had ?e.cuniculi or a confirmed e.cuniculi diagnosis then please get in touch as they will need a 9 day course of Panacur right before boarding.
18. DIRTY BOTTOMS – MATTED FUR AND MITES OR FLEAS
If your pets arrive with dirty bottoms, matted fur, mites or fleas we will not be able to board them until they have been cleaned up, successfully treated and any matts removed.
Any fees paid are not refundable for unused boarding days.
19. SICKNESS WHILE BOARDING
If your pet needs to see a vet during their holiday we will contact you straight away.
In the case of Gut Stasis we reserve the right to take your pet to an animal hospital where they will be monitored, treated with medication & round the clock supported feeding.
Some vets ask for you to pay a deposit on admission - (around £219 June 2025).
Any vets fees must to be settled by you, over the telephone, at the end of the consultation or when they are discharged from the vets care.
We DO NOT pay for any vet fees.
If your pet stays at the vets - any unused boarding days are not refunded.
We charge £15 an hour for each journey to and from the vets and there is an extra charge to administer any treatment.
Rabbits can deteriorate very quickly despite having medical treatment. If your pet passes away you will be contacted straight away to discuss your wishes.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PRICES PLEASE SEE - IF YOUR PET NEEDS TO SEE A VET
20. PET CARRIERS
Rabbits must arrive in a secure PLASTIC pet carrier as required by our insurance company in case of an emergency evacuation or vets visit. We will not accept fabric carriers.
21. NEW PARTNERS
Rabbits need to have been bonded with their new partner for 3 months before they can board together in the lodge. This is due to them still being in the ‘Honeymoon period’ where bonds can be fragile in the early stages of their lives together. Please note we DO NOT board male/male bonded pairs due to issues with hierarchy between dominant & secondary bucks, in a new environment, in the past
22. GIANT RABBITS
Unfortunately our suites are not suitable for giants and giant cross breeds of rabbits.
23. FIGHTING
If your bonded rabbits fight during their stay they will be separated and you will be charged the daily rate for the additional suite or pen.
24. ABANDONMENT
If you don't collect your rabbit/s within 7 (seven) days of the arranged collection date and we have not heard from you, your partner, or your emergency contact (the name given on your vet form) then we will assume you have abandoned your pet and arrange for them to go to a rehoming centre. You will be invoiced for any days they stay in our care until they go to a the rescue centre.
25. INVOICES
Any unpaid invoices will be referred to our Pet Business Insurance for them to instruct a debt collection agency to act on our behalf.
26. LIABILITY
Small pet boarding establishments do not need a licence. We do our very best to limit the risk of illness, injury and disease and the Garden Lodge Bunny Retreat are released of all liability if anything does happen while your pet is in our care.
Mites are naturally found in some bales and packs of hay and we can not be held responsible for your pet going home with mites.
27. PRIVACY POLICY
Our Privacy policy is here.
As of July 2025