Tilly wasn't our first choice: my wife and I had initially fallen for a grey lop-eared charmer at a local pet shop, but the rabbit was unexpectedly pulled from sale. Still determined to bring a bunny into our lives, we trudged from store to store across south-west London until we spotted this tiny ball of brown and white fluff. At that moment, no other rabbit could compare.
Tilly was many things. When our landlord came by, she stayed at a friend's place. To the kale farmers of Britain, she was a lifeline. To us, she was affectionate but fiercely protective of her personal space—you simply knew when she wanted to be stroked and when she didn't.
This fluffy menace demanded more effort than either of our babies. Yet she taught us something profound: how to nurture a creature you can't reason with.