The Animal Resource Foundation’s (ARF) Spay/Neuter Clinic, with funding provided by PetSmart Charities, will hold a special event next month at its clinic in the White Marsh Shopping Center to prevent unwanted litters of puppies and kittens.

Through the “Precious, Not Parents” campaign, the clinic will provide $20 spay and neuter surgeries for 48 puppies and kittens under six months of age during June.

Kittens as young as four months and puppies as young as five months are old enough to get pregnant, having their first litter two months later. “These precious babies shouldn’t be parents at five and six months old,” said ARF board member Lyn Layer.

Some pet parents may worry that their pet is too young for this procedure, but spaying and neutering is safe and easy for kittens and puppies as young as eight to 10 weeks old, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Pediatric spay/neuter surgeries account for about 20 percent of total ...