To celebrate Spay Day 2017, the Animal Resource Foundation (ARF) Spay/Neuter Clinic invited the public to submit a short essay on why spaying and neutering is important. Two winners were chosen by a drawing and received a certificate for a free spay or neuter for a dog or cat.

In her winning essay, Leanna Bellinger of Hayes said that “I have taken in horses, dogs and cats that have been abandoned or unwanted. Spaying and neutering … helps with overpopulation … At the moment I have taken in a hunting dog who is scared to death of people, I am hoping to rehabilitate him.” She calls him Skippy and plans to use her certificate to have him neutered at ARF when he is ready.

The second winner, Denise Hutchins of Gloucester, said of dogs and cats that “Every one born is our responsibility and we’ve forgotten our commitment! Every year millions of animals are euthanized, which is a failure on the part of humankind. Spaying and neutering is how we uphold t...