Pat Carpenter redefines the phrase “animal lover.” She’s the founder and president of Altered Tails, a charitable organization that operates a low-cost spay-and-neuter program.

The organization’s goal is to sterilize 22,000 dogs and cats a year in an effort to reduce the number of animals that are euthanized.

Compassion compels her, she said.

“I do it for the humane reasons; 59,093 dogs and cats were euthanized in Maricopa County last year. And that was primarily because there were not enough homes,” she said. “So my thinking is, ‘Why not prevent the problem before it hits the ground?’”

Carpenter performs a variety of tasks for Altered Tails, but perhaps most importantly, she provided the impetus for the group’s method of outreach: a 40-foot truck that contains all the tools needed for spaying and neutering pets. Altered Tails drives the mobile operating room to various locations in the community, where nearby residents can bring their pets to be sterilized.

Carpenter purchased the truck from a similar organization in Houston, drove it to the Valley, and for the first ninth months after the purchase, drove the rig to spay-and-neuter sites around the Valley.

A third veterinary technician has since come aboard, lessening Carpenter’s truck-driving duties. Yet, she does other behind-the-scenes work for Altered Tails, tasks ranging from cleaning surgical instruments to planning the organization’s black-tie fundraiser.

Kathy Lange, a former colleague of Carpenter’s at the Arizona Animal Welfare League, said Carpenter’s work is motivated by a deep love for animals.

“She uses all her skills and energy and makes the rest of us look like chump change,” Lange said. “She even drove to New Orleans two years ago to rescue animals from Hurricane Katrina.”

The sterilization program provides benefits to the altered pets, as well as to the community, Carpenter said.

“Spayed and neutered animals are healthier, and barring any other medical problems, they will live two to three years longer,” she said. “Sterile animals are also 91 percent less likely to bite than an intact animal.”

The revelation to start a spay-and-neuter program came to Carpenter when the 51-year-old retired paralegal first started to perform volunteer work for the Arizona Animal Welfare League in 1999.

“It became obvious to me from working there and hearing phone calls from people who had litters of animals,” said Carpenter, who lived in Scottsdale for a decade before relocating recently to Phoenix. “That’s how I came to the decision to found a spay-and-neuter organization.”

Altered Tails posts its schedule and prices online at

www.alteredtails.org.

The Scottsdale Tribune is profiling the 2007 Frances Young Community Heroes. The award pays tribute to those whose volunteer service directly benefits Scottsdale residents or organizations.

Today: Pat Carpenter

Thursday: Fred Christensen

Friday: Joe Garcia Jr.

Saturday: Courtney Harrington

Sunday: Karl McKinney

Monday: Ron Shoemaker