Roary the rabbit is pure therapy
A teenager who was battling anorexia when her parents bought her two rabbits to help her through her struggles has seen one of her pets pick up a national award.
Three-year-old Lionhead Roary was nominated by owner Ellie Taylor, aged 18, from Rowley Regis, for supporting her through a family bereavement, issues at school and her battle with an eating disorder.
Roary is the latest recipient of a devotion award from veterinary charity PDSA, for helping his owner through a very tough time in her life.
Ellie's mum Joanne decided to get two rabbits, Roary and Tiger, in the hope that having responsibility for their care would help her daughter to get better. Sadly Tiger died in 2012.
Roary has been awarded a PDSA Commendation for his devotion to Ellie, who said: "In 2011 I lost my grandad suddenly. I was also having problems at school and as a result I wasn't able to cope with things. l became ill with an eating disorder, anorexia, and had to come out of schoo. Because I couldn't go to school, I spent every day with Roary and Tiger. They helped ease my pain and slowly I began to feel like myself again."
Ian Fleming, PDSA's senior vet at the charity's Pet Hospital in Oldbury, the Marion and Christina Ionescu Centre of Surgical Excellence, presented Roary with his certificate at a special presentation on Thursday.
For more information visit www.pdsa.org.uk/awards
