This has been our dream for a number of years, so when the opportunity came round we jumped at the chance to make our dream come true. We have had over the years, the privilige of some great furries living with us in our home, sharing our lives, and off course, teaching us how to look after them properly!.
The idea came to us when we visited our local abandoned animal centre at Trelogan, in North Wales. There where these beautiful bunnies living there which nobody wanted due to being old or because their previous owners just got fed up with them. We used to come away from there thinking we could give them another opportunity, to have a life of fun and love which they deserved more than anything. We devised a plan to bring some of the bunnies to our home. Firstly my wife Jay made out a begging e-mail which we sent to companies asking for their help or support to get us started, we soon started getting replies back with offers of help, for which we will always be greatful for. Some companies sent food, others sent water bottles, bowls, treats, hay, etc, even our friends (other rabbit owners) sent things to get us started. Our biggest problem was getting some accomodation for the bunnies to live in as we knew that we would not be able to house all the buns in the house. This was soon taken care of by our local B & Q store, after a few phone calls between myself and them they made us an offer we just could not refuse. And a week later 2 very large sheds arrived. We now had a start - we looked at the sheds and decided to put them together to make one large bunny house which we have situated in the garden near to the house.
Now, our next problem - we didn't want the buns in hutches, so we built them two and three storey condos, this means that they can play inside the condos when the weather is bad - as we also split the day up they each get time in the whole bunny house or the garden and pens.
Most of the buns we have live indoors sharing our home with us - we are so sorry that all can not be inside the house but, due to not having anymore spare rooms, we cannot bring them in. Having said that the bunny house is fitted out with everything they would have in the main house, i.e. heating, blankets on the floor, radio ( Classic Fm ),toys, and lots of company from us or the other buns who come to visit from inside the house, they even have curtains on the windows !!!. It was nice and warm for them during the winter even when the temperatures dropped below minus so we think they are nice and snug in their home.
Before we opened our Retirement Home we already had two buns of our own, Pebbles and Poppit. They have the run of the house but not together as they have never got on, but they are the most loving bunnies to us that anyone could wish for.(W have done a history of both further on in the site).
The year 2001 was a year every loving bunny owner dreads, we lost four of our loving little family (Ebby, Nibz, Scruffy, and Dumpy ).They passed over Rainbow Bridge and this nearly destroyed our lives. We reached a real low point but we still had our handsome Pebbles and little Poppit and so they kept us going. However, we still felt the house was too empty and we needed more little feet about the place, so that’s when our Retirement Home came to be.
On the 8th July 2002 we went to our local rescue centre and saw a beautiful sooty fawn doe - her name was Fern and we just fell in love with her - read her story on the site. Fern was the spitting image of Poppit but she was 5 years old and had been at the centre for 6 months. Fern came home with us, BUT while we where there we spotted the most stunning bun we have ever seen, her name was Violet a beautiful 7 year old black satin cross, we just fell for her as well as Fern. However, there was a problem with Violet, she had been at the rescue for just over two years and Pat who looked after the buns did not want her to go to a home where she was not going to get what she really deserved in life. Over the next few days we both talked to Pat about bring Violet home to be a house bun and this resulted in Violet coming home with us exactly a week after Fern.
In the meantime it had taken about three hours for Poppit and Fern to fall head over heels in love with each other. They were now like two little shadows together, if one wandered off the otherwas looking all around the house for the other! This was a match made in heaven and we could not be anymore happy for both of them. We had hoped to try and bond Pebbles and Violet, but this was just not going to happen until hell freezes over (Pebbles and Violet's words not mine). They are just to set too in their own ways, they both make fantastic companion bunnies for us, they love getting cuddles from me and Jay, but they said "no" to bonding!! They would lay besides each other if one was in the run and the other alongside, they where just happy in their own little ways.
I think is safe to say we are totally bunny bonkers, crazy or any other words you can think of - we love them all so much and we really do think they love us as well. Some days, everybody has them, where we are feeling a little down hearted and a bit blue, well that’s when the bunnies come into their own. One or more will always do something to make you smile or give you a really good laugh or just come over to you and give you a good snuggle and take all them cares away. I know now we could never be without our little bundles of happiness, they give us a purpose in life and we know this is what we were meant to do with our lives. We have so much fun, it is hard to put into words, it is also hard work keeping them to the lifestyle that they have become accustomed to since they arrived here, but its still fun to do :-)
At the present we have 25 bunny residents here - in the two years that we have been open we have had many residents come and go - that is the really sad part about having a Retirement Home. We have been able to bond many of the buns and this has freed up space for others to come along, it also gives those buns a partner for maybe the first time in their lives.
All we want from doing this is to see buns happy and content and actually being buns! If they can stay for a long time then we are the lucky ones, if they can only stay for a short time then again, we are the lucky ones. Whichever bun comes along is loved without a doubt, no-one is treated differently - they all get the same treatment and the main ingredients of that are, being wanted, being loved and being themselves.
Welcome to Ebony-Eyes - they are the words that we always say to them and they are always meant.
After John and I being apart for over eight months! we have finally moved up to Scotland and are loving it 
The Hairy Mob have settled in fine and all their stuff was sorted out for them - needless to say, John and I still have boxes and boxes of stuff to put away 
but at least all the buns are fine 
We know it's been a very long time since we updated the website but we are going to get around to it and get it all done - we have sad news and good news as well - a mixture of emotions - but best of all we are all together again so the wait has been worth it
For anyone who needs our new address then please send an email to jaypot@btinternet.com and I'll try and get back to you as quickly as I can.
Thank you everyone who has supported us over the years and hopefully will continue to do so 
The main thing is that the Hairy Mob are all doing well and we are happy with that
