DEARBORN, Mich. – Many people knew and loved Betty White for the work she did in Hollywood, but she would always say that her real passion was animals.
The legendary entertainer died at the age of 99 on Dec. 31.
White’s passion has led many of her fans to come together to continue to further that passion by saving animals.
You have probably seen posts encouraging people all over social media to donate to a local shelter in honor of what would have been White’s 100th birthday on Jan. 17.
“Oh, did you know she was this great animal advocate,” said Sarah Rood of Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit in Dearborn.
Rood said she and the rest of the staff at the shelter have always looked up to White. Especially for what she did behind the scenes.
“So it definitely was hard for all of us here just knowing that she was such a figure in the animal welfare, animal support world,” Rood said.
Rood was so inspired by the efforts of White that she and the staff made a “thank you for being a friend” video in 2020. The video was to thank all the volunteers and donors of the shelter.
“So we had all of our staff members film part of the thank you for being a friend song,” Rood said.
Now, they are bringing the video back to commemorate the late actress and help further her cause.
“We will have a dedicated memorial page set up where you can make a donation,” Rood said. “We are encouraging $100 for her 100th birthday.”
Sarah says every dollar donated goes a long way, and these animals’ lives depend on those donations.
“So all of your donations help to care for all the animals we get in,” Rood said. “We get in about 2,500 animals a year. When they go home, they’ll have their rabies vaccine, they’ll be all up to date on all age-appropriate vaccines, they’ll be sprayed or neutered, and they’ll be microchipped.”
Rather than a donation to a shelter or a rescue, the absolute best way to honor White would be to adopt an animal.
