York’s beloved bunny, Cocoa, is being put down this week due to complications with her age and health.

For seven years,  students have looked forward to coming to class everyday so they can see Cocoa the bunny–she loves human contact and even closes her eyes when she is being pet, according to Animal Behavior teacher Mrs. Zentner.

Cocoa was given to York by former Animal Behavior student, Ashley Vazquez.

Mrs. Zentner said that they were lucky that she had come from a loving home and welcomed human contact.

“When she first arrived, her name was Cocoa, ” Zentner said. “Some students thought she didn’t look like a Cocoa and gave her the nickname ‘Oprah’.”

Zentner refers to Cocoa as a “senior bunny” because she is around 8-9 years old. That’s the equivalent to a 60 year old human.

“Since she is a senior bunny, she is at a point where her body is not cooperating,” Zentner said.

Although Animal Behavior is hoping to adopt a mini lop bunny from a farm sometime in the future, Cocoa won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

“Cocoa has been our ‘mascot’ in Animal Behavior” said Zentner. “ We have loved seeing students open up, and come out of their shell when handling the animals in our classroom and know that Cocoa is a pivotal part in making students feel comfortable in the classroom.”