RHDV2 Proof Is the Centre of the File
A Harlequin rabbit boarding away from home is usually asked first for proof of vaccination against rabbit haemorrhagic disease, with cover for the RHDV2 strain. The acceptable proof is a vaccination certificate from his vet or a printed extract from his clinical record showing the vaccine and the date it was given. Harlequin markings make him one of the most recognisable rabbits in a boarding room, but recognition is not a health safeguard — the certificate is what protects him and every rabbit around him. Facilities differ on format: some file a paper copy, others accept a photograph of the certificate sent ahead. Confirm which yours wants when you book, not at drop-off, when a missing document can mean a refused stay.
The Recent Health Check Behind the Certificate
Most rabbit-aware boarders pair the vaccination proof with evidence that the rabbit is currently well: a recent vet check, or the facility's own health declaration signed by you, confirming he is eating hay enthusiastically, producing plenty of dry droppings, and showing no sneezing, wet chin, sore skin, or change in behaviour. For a Harlequin, mention anything relevant from his history — a past episode of gut stasis, dental work, or a tendency to stop eating in unfamiliar surroundings — because boarding staff who know his history watch his hay intake and droppings from the first evening rather than discovering a problem on day three. If he has never boarded before, say so; first stays are when stress-related appetite dips most often appear.
Intake Forms, Diet Detail, and Matching the Markings
The remaining paperwork is administrative but not trivial. The intake form records his diet precisely — the hay he eats freely, his measured pellets, the greens he is used to and any he has never had — along with litter preferences if he uses a tray. Your vet's name and number, your own contact details, and an emergency contact able to authorise treatment sit alongside. Many facilities photograph each rabbit on arrival or ask you to supply a picture, and a Harlequin's alternating bands of colour, split evenly down the face in a well-marked animal, make that identification photograph genuinely useful: no other boarder will share his pattern. Check the photo they hold actually looks like him, including which side carries which colour.
Sorting Paperwork Before the Stay, Not During It
If his vaccination has lapsed or he has never been covered, see your vet well ahead of travel, because protection takes time to establish and a certificate issued the day before boarding may not satisfy a careful facility. Ask the boarder directly whether rabbits are housed away from ferrets, dogs, and other predator species, whether unvaccinated rabbits are ever admitted, and what happens to your booking if paperwork is incomplete. A Harlequin who is off his food, producing small dry droppings, or sitting hunched before the stay should be seen by a vet instead of boarded; a good facility would rather rebook him than nurse a declining rabbit it does not know.
A KinsLe Pet Passport holds his vaccination certificate, health notes, diet sheet, and identification photo in one packet, so the proof a Harlequin's boarder asks for is complete before you reach the door.