Mailbag:

Your story about the Orange County Animal Shelter (“Oh, those faces!”, Oct. 1) brought back memories, as I used to volunteer there. Pet overpopulation is tragic. I believe the only way to curb this problem is to televise shelter euthanasias weekly. Put the guilt where it belongs: on those who have allowed their animals to breed.

When I lived in Orange County, we volunteers formed a group to raise money. We paid for many cats and dogs to be spayed and neutered. I believe I speak for all volunteers by stating that our hero in Orange County was veterinarian Rod La Shelle. Very seldom in my 74 years have I met a more ethical, decent person. At La Shelle’s Fountain Valley clinic, his spay/neuter prices were a fraction of what other vets charged, yet he was a perfectionist.

The volunteers were terribly upset when La Shelle spoke of selling his practice. We were convinced that the new vet would care more about money than animals. How wrong we were.

Veterinarian J.C. Haefner was a wonderful lady with as much caring and ethics as La Shelle. Haefner always managed to fit in one more cat or dog that needed to be altered, no matter how busy she was. I was terribly upset to hear that this exceptional vet recently died.

Those of us who work to help animals owe a great deal of gratitude to both of these veterinarians. Due to their very affordable prices, many thousands of animals were altered that would not have been otherwise. Without a doubt, these vets prevented millions of cats and dogs from being born and ending up in the shelter’s dead bins.