To the editor:

Bob Barker, longtime animal advocate and host of “The Price is Right” always ended each show with the quote, “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.” Spaying or neutering your pet is the most effective way to save lives and decrease suffering. Even in homes, on leashes and in fenced yards, pets still can get loose.

Unwanted litters of pets can happen. These unwanted pets can put stress and financial strain on their owners. These unwanted pets can continue to reproduce generation after generation of more unwanted pets and often end up neglected, abandoned, put into overcrowded shelters or even worse.

There are many ways to help unwanted pets, but the first and most effective way is to prevent unwanted litters in the first place. Each one of us can make a difference. Each one of us can take the first step to control the pet population. Each one of us can help end the cycle of suffering and spay or neuter a pet.

To the pet owners that take the time, energy and finances to spay or neuter their pets, thank you. To the rescue groups that work tirelessly through exhaustion and swallowed tears helping care for unwanted pets, thank you. To the shelter workers and volunteers who day in and day out push through heartache after heartache, thank you. To those who care for community cats and see more suffering than we can imagine, thank you.

If you need to have your pet spayed or neutered, seek veterinary care.

If you need assistance, consider utilizing the low-cost spay and neuter clinics available. Each pet that is helped by a spay or neuter makes a difference. It makes a big difference, and each one of us can make a big difference because it does take all of us. It takes a village.

Carol Gossett

Steubenville