The world recently mourned the passing of show biz legend Betty White, who passed away on New Year’s Eve at the age of 99. Famous for her iconic roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Golden Girls, White was equally famous for her real-life passion for animal welfare.
One of the animal charities that White supported was the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue in San Angelo, Texas. The organization has named one of its donkey foals, known as a jennet, after Betty.
The group posted a photo of the adorable baby donkey on its Facebook page, writing: “We would like to introduce you to Betty White-Ludden, or Betty for short. This beautiful little jennet was born on Christmas Day but we were unable to come up with the perfect name until New Year’s Eve. Her namesake was a PVDR supporter since 2006. Betty White was a tremendous voice for animals both here in the US and around the world. To honor her memory, Peaceful Valley is naming our newly constructed nursery in her honor.”
The Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue is the largest of its kind in the United States, and was started by Mark and Amy Meyers after they bought their first donkey as a pet, then quickly noticed that there were many donkeys in their community that weren’t so lucky. So they started to acquire abused and neglected animals. According to the group’s website, once that number hit 25 donkeys, the Meyers realized they needed to open an official rescue. Now the organization cares for about 3,000 donkeys, burros, and mules.
In an interview with media outlet Newsbreak, Mark Meyers said, “A lot of people said it could be any Betty White, but the checks came from her house under her name and then started coming from her management company… It was the real deal Betty White.”
Meyers also said that the late star donated “tens of thousands of dollars over the years to the rescue.”
Check out little Betty here:
