To the editor:

Foothills animal lovers should read “ All Creatures Great and Small” by Dr. James Herriot.  It’s a story about his country veterinarian practice in England. Published in 1972, it is still popular today as a heartwarming true story of Dr. Herriot whose unique courage, warmth and natural storytelling ability captures your heart in a special way.

We are fortunate to have many wonderful vets in our area. We also have the Foothills Humane Society, which takes care of neglected and mistreated animals, and, therefore, always have animals in need of adoption. The people associated with Foothills do a wonderful service to our community.

However, I was totally shocked when I took my female Lab, Tootsie, to the vet I had been using for five years. I was told that I would now be charged 25 percent more because Tootsie was not spayed. I was being penalized because there were too many abandoned animals here. My wife even had someone be ugly to her when she mentioned we were going to breed Tootsie.