After adopting a baby girl from Korea with husband Josh Kelley last year, mother-Teresa-in-training Katherine Heigl is giving $1 million to shelter animals.

The Jason Debus Heigl Foundation (in memory of her late brother) will help fund the Compassion Revolution, a no-cost spay and neuter program in Los Angeles.

Regarding the 50,000 L.A. animals euthanized last year, Katherine said:

“How can we change the results for these animals? [Shelters are not only] euthanizing sick, old dogs. It’s gotten brutal, you know. It’s inhuman, really.”

Katherine has 3 rescue dogs of her own, and wants to stress that spay/neutering should not be an option:

“When I was growing up, my mother and father had zero desire for any one of our animals to have a litter,”

“I think it’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of energy. Then, as an adult, because of the way I was raised and because I had the means to do it, [spaying and neutering] goes without question. “

Katherine believes that through education, her foundation, and the others involved, can make a difference in the lives of so many helpless creatures:

“But there are a lot of communities that don’t have that education, weren’t raised that way and don’t see their pets that way,”

“They have no idea that a litter of 10 means a litter of, like, 400 in the future. We can tell them and educate them, and provide a way for them to spay and neuter their pets.”

This is heart-breaking and incredible at the same time.

It’s just one city, but hopefully Katherine’s efforts will inspire others with the means to help to actually help these poor animals.