(Image: Pictures thanks to the PDSA)

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A battery of medics tried and failed to conquer the anorexia that threatened to destroy Ellie Taylor.

But now the teenager has finally beaten the terrible disease – thanks to her pet rabbit, Roary.

The 18-year-old former drama student, who weighed only seven stone when hospitalised, has made a remarkable recovery since purchasing Roary.

“He saved my life, without doubt,” she says.

“He gave me what I needed – responsibility and companionship. He’s a friend, a big part of my life.

“He made me realise I had to be strong for someone else.

“The way he has helped me is incredible, he has made me happy.”

Ellie, now a healthy nine-and-a-half stone, first succumbed to the eating disorder following the sudden death of her grandfather, Bob, in 2011.

It sparked a chilling change in her mental make-up.

Slowly, anorexia took a hold.

(Image: Pictures thanks to the PDSA)

Painfully thin, Ellie, from Blackheath, Sandwell, was forced to miss a year of schooling at Ormiston Academy and spent a month in hospital.

“At Sandwell Hospital, I wanted to get up and walk, but they said I couldn’t,” she recalls.

“They said it would burn too many calories – that was very scary.

“People think it’s just an eating disorder, that it’s all about food, but it is so many other things.

“It comes with depression and not being yourself. How it can get inside your head is scary.”

Ellie bought Roary from Pets at Home, Oldbury, in 2012. The difference the bunny made has stunned Ellie’s mum, Joanne.

(Image: Pictures thanks to the PDSA)

In fact, he has made such an impact that Ellie purchased another rabbit, Riley, last August.

“I honestly think that without Roary I wouldn’t be here,” adds Ellie.

“I’m now in a good place, thanks to him, but I don’t think it ever fully leaves you because something that big is life-changing.”

At last, Ellie can look to the future. She will soon audition for a job at Disneyland Paris as Princess Tiana, the much-loved animated character from The Princess and the Frog.

And the transformation is all down to Roary – the bunny that has made hutch a difference.

For more information on anorexia, including how to get help, visit http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/anorexia-nervosa/pages/introduction.aspx