It’s no secret that Betty White was an avid animal lover off-screen. You might remember seeing her pop up in commercials for Purina dog food or in heartfelt pet adoption and animal welfare PSAs.

She supported pet adoptions, worked closely with charities and shelters, and dedicated much of her life outside show business to helping animals in need. She also served on the board of the Los Angeles Zoo Commission for a decade.

But her love for animals didn’t stop there — she even hoped to bring that passion to her character on The Golden Girls.

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In a 1986 interview with The Daily Advertiser, Betty White said she often thought about the best way to introduce a pet into the storyline of The Golden Girls — because who doesn’t love having a furry friend around?

"I’ve always had visions of Rose having a closet animal the others don’t know about," White said. "A lop-eared rabbit or something. So I think plans are in the works."

"I’ve had animals all of my life," White continued. "We’ve come very far in realizing how much these little furry creatures keep our stress factors down. The reason pets help the elderly is that they force them to think about something else. It forces them to get up in the morning and care for the pet."

While the women of The Golden Girls never ended up with a pet — not even a secret one — that didn’t stop White from surrounding herself with animals off-screen. 

According to the interview, she had recently lost her dog Sooner, a mixed Labrador retriever she rescued from Sunset Boulevard 15 years earlier and it was a heartfelt reminder that her love for animals wasn’t just talk, but something she lived every day.

"He was 6 months old when we found him on the street with a broken leg," White said. "We brought him home for one night to look for a home. We just never found the right home. We named him Sooner because we’d sooner bring him home than leave him."