Whether on the University of Maryland campus during the week or downtown College Park on a late Saturday night, it’s hard to miss the small crowd that forms around Samuel Booker IV and his bunny on a leash, Butterscotch.
Booker, a 27-year-old from Columbia, Maryland, adopted Butterscotch from a Virginia farm in 2020. He’s been bringing the bunny to campus ever since.
In an interview with The Diamondback outside McKeldin Library, interrupted frequently by students stopping to pet Butterscotch, Booker said his mission is to “just make people’s day better.”
Butterscotch got his name from a random student on campus. Soon after Booker got the bunny, he brought him outside McKeldin library and students gathered around and began tossing out name suggestions. Someone said “Butterscotch,” and the name stuck.
This isn’t the first time one of Booker’s pets has drawn attention at this university.
Booker used to bring his fluffy gray cat named Hyper to campus, The Diamondback reported in 2019. Hyper is still doing well and the two pets have been “like brothers growing up,” Booker said. But Butterscotch has become the campus celebrity.
Booker began bringing Butterscotch to campus to help him socialize. Once bunnies get used to being around people, he said, they get less scared.
Judging by how unfazed Butterscotch is around the commotion on late-night College Park sidewalks, the technique appears to have worked.
Booker brings Butterscotch to campus a few times a week. On weekends, the pair often sit outside Marathon Deli around midnight, because that’s where the people and the action are, he said. Last spring, Booker took Butterscotch swimming in the fountain on the McKeldin Mall “just to see if bunnies could swim.”
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In 2022, Booker created TikTok and Instagram pages for Hyper and Butterscotch, which have amassed more than 6,700 followers.
Booker sees his popularity as a potential business move and hopes to one day start selling merchandise or turn social media into a full-time job.
Booker never expected Butterscotch to be so popular. Sometimes when he takes Butterscotch to restaurants, some people look shocked and others try to sneak pictures.
“When you have a bunny, just be ready for all those eyes, because it’s a lot of eyes on me,” he said.
People tend to ask Booker for details about his bunny, including his name, why he’s there and if eats carrots. Bunnies will eat anything, but Butterscotch snacks on banana slices from Cold Stone Creamery, Booker said.
Despite the repetitive questions, Booker said the feeling of bringing people joy never gets old.
“I can see it on their face. It just lights up,” he said. “It’s amazing.”
Butterscotch’s heartwarming effect is immediate for many students.
Junior computer science major Thomas Conrad said he often sees posts on Discord about someone with a bunny on campus. Conrad added that meeting Butterscotch was great.
“My day is better,” he said. “I just got out of an exam that was kind of rough, but it was wonderful seeing Butterscotch.”
Even though sophomore international relations major Sophia Frazier had a class to attend, she stopped in front of McKeldin Library to pet Butterscotch.
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“Oh my goodness, you’re so cute, bro,” she said while holding him. “I love it when there’s animals on campus.”
Booker and Butterscotch visit other nearby colleges such as the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Towson University. But they visit this university most often because it’s where they’re best known and “where it all started.”
Booker never attended college. He previously worked jobs as a mover, but is currently in rehab after being the victim of a domestic stabbing in June. The incident, he said, changed his perspective on Butterscotch’s effect.
“It’s just good to be alive,” he said. “It makes me more motivated to come out here and just make people’s day better.”
Despite what some have said, Booker insists he doesn’t come to campus to improve his dating life, even if having a bunny in his arms makes it easier to start conversations.
“A lot of guys say this is the method, whatever that means,” he said. “But that’s not what I’m out here doing.”
Booker, who comes off as very soft-spoken, said the attention has boosted his confidence and made him a “better talker.”
He plans to continue bringing Butterscotch to campus, even through the winter. But he has no plans to let his growing popularity change him.
“I don’t let the clout get to my head,” he said. “I gotta keep ‘em humble.”
