Editor, Gazette-Journal: This month, a dog arrived at PETA’s clinic barely clinging to life. She was suffering from pyometra—an agonizing, often fatal uterine infection that requires emergency surgery. Her guardian had been quoted thousands of dollars elsewhere. She pulled together a small donation, and PETA covered the rest. That surgery saved her dog’s life. Last year alone, PETA performed dozens of emergency pyometra surgeries—every one of them entirely preventable with a routine spay. February is Spay/Neuter Awareness Month, and as a licensed veterinary technician and longtime resident of this area, I’ve seen how crucial these surgeries are for the animals we love. In many underserved communities, nearly 88 percent of animals are unaltered—not because their guardians don’t care, but because affordable care is out of reach. When most animals are intact, preventable suffering becomes more common. Spaying and neutering are preventive medicine. Spaying eliminates the risk of pyometra, ...