The American Kennel Club (New York) signed a multiyear extension to its worldwide representation agreement with 4Kids Entertainment Inc. (New York), allowing 4Kids to continue to serve as AKC’s licensing agent in all merchandise categories. [March 2006 PET AGE]

The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (Greenwich, Conn.) recently approved 80 new members, including several from Canada and China. [March 2006 PET AGE]

AUSTRIA—Dog Insurance. As of January, dog owners in Vienna must obtain liability insurance for pet dogs born in 2006 or later to cover legal costs, property damage or physical injury caused by the animal. Pet owners who do not insure their dogs may be fined. [March 2006 PET AGE]

A maker of therapeutic skin and health care products for pets and horses, avVaa World Health Care Products Inc. (Lumby, British Columbia) signed a distributor agreement with Galaman Ltd. (Toronto), which serves all of Canada. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Aquascape Designs Inc. (St. Charles, Ill.) recently launched Aquascape University at Aqualand, the company’s new training and educational facility for water gardening contractors and retailers. For a complete schedule of courses, visit www.aquascapedesigns.com, or call 866-877-6637 in the United States and 866-766-3426 in Canada. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Central Garden & Pet Co. (Walnut Creek, Calif.) acquired certain intellectual property assets from Shirlo Inc. (Memphis, Tenn.), including exclusive marketing rights to etofenprox, an insecticide approved for use on animals, for approximately $10 million. The acquired assets will be combined with Wellmark International (Schaumburg, Ill.), a wholly owned subsidiary of Central. [March 2006 PET AGE]

The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration honored D&D Commodities Ltd. (Stephen, Minn.) as a Minnesota Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program worksite for developing safety and health programs that go beyond basic compliance with OSHA standards and that result in immediate and long-term prevention of job-related injuries and illnesses. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Dad’s Pet Care (Meadville, Pa.) integrated key areas of its business, including finance, sales, demand planning, purchasing, inventory and manufacturing, with software by JustFoodERP (Allentown, Pa.). [March 2006 PET AGE]

Now that the DiveIn! aquarium fish marketing program is coming to an end, the Florida Department of Agriculture (Tallahassee, Fla.) is clearing out its remaining inventory of FisHedz posters. The agency has 40,000 posters in 50-count packs, available at no charge to retailers involved in school programs. For more information, contact Barbera Turnbull at (850) 488-0163 or turnbub@doacs.state.fl.us. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Dogswell (San Francisco) donated approximately $750,000 in dog and cat treats to more than 25 animal charities and rescue groups—including the Buddy Hackett Singita Animal Sanctuary in Sylmar, Calif.—in 2005. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Responding to more than 2,000 letters of protests from users, eBay recently shelved plans to facilitate the sale and adoption of pets via its Internet auction site. The company had planned to launch a separate classified ad service early that would allow people to pay a listing fee to advertise animals for sale. However, eBay would not have taken part in actual sales or permitted bidding. [March 2006 PET AGE]

FLORIDA—Nonindigenous Flora or Fauna. Senate Bill 1300, prohibiting the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Department of Environmental Protection from issuing permits for the importation of nonindigenous flora and fauna, was referred to committee. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Girlshop.com (New York) added a pet section to its e-tailing site, offering designer toys, collars, scents, clothing and beds for dogs. [March 2006 PET AGE]

INDIANA—Pesticide Registration Fees. House Bill 1065, raising the fee to register pesticides from $75 to $150, was passed in January. The fee increase becomes effective July 1, 2006. Ten dollars of each fee will be used for pesticide education programs. [March 2006 PET AGE]

INDIANA—Animal Guardianship. The City of Bloomington in December amended its animal code to replace the term “owner” with “owner/guardian.” [March 2006 PET AGE]

Invisible Technologies Inc. (Garret, Ind.), maker of Invisible Fence and Innotek electronic pet products, will move into new corporate headquarters in Fort Wayne, Ind., later this year, according to published reports. The newly renovated 65,000-square-foot facility will house sales, marketing, product development, customer support, distribution and administration. [March 2006 PET AGE]

The classic Kong toy by The Kong Co. (Golden, Colo.) was named best dog toy in the Indy Tails Magazine 2005 Readers’ Choice Awards. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Latka’s Treats L.L.C. (New York) was named a preferred vendor for NexPet Retailer Group (New York), and will extend special offers and discounts to the group’s 300-plus members. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Meyer Country Farms Ltd. (Scottsdale, Ariz.), maker of Bullyrubs certified organic pet products, added St. Bell International Inc. of Seoul, Korea, as a distributor in the Far East. [March 2006 PET AGE]

My Good Dog L.L.C. (Biddeford, Maine) recently launched to manufacture and market temperature-regulating beds, Polartec fleece outerwear, Novasuede leashes and collars, and dog toys made of athletic shoe fabric. [March 2006 PET AGE]

My Pet Garden (Glendale, Calif.) launched an online store at www.mypetgarden.com to sell gift baskets for pets, as well as kids and gardeners. The site also features a how-to video for brushing dogs’ teeth. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Neeps Inc. (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.), a pet supply distributor and parent company to eight online pet supply stores, acquired HealthyPetStore.com (Oakhurst, N.J.) for an undisclosed price. Neeps is handling customer service and order fulfillment from its headquarters. [March 2006 PET AGE]

NEW HAMPSHIRE—Regulation of Boarding Kennels and Grooming Facilities. Senate Bill 350, which provides for the licensing and inspection of animal boarding establishments and pet grooming facilities, was introduced in January. [March 2006 PET AGE]

OurPet’s Co. (Fairport Harbor, Ohio) acquired the operating assets of Pet Zone Products Ltd. (Cleveland) in exchange for 3.1 million shares of unregistered common stock, warrants to purchase an additional 2.8 million shares and $464,998 in cash. OurPet’s moved Pet Zone operations to its facility in Fairport Harbor, which is set to undergo expansion from its current 28,000 square feet to approximately 60,000 square feet. OurPet’s plans to retain the Pet Zone label in certain markets and product categories. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Pet Ecology Brands Inc. (Dallas) signed distribution deals with four regional distributors: Best Pet Distributing (Burlington, N.C.), for North Carolina; Lucid Distributors (Burnaby, British Columbia), for Alaska and western Canada; RetailPets.com (West Chester, Pa.), for Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and on its Web site (www.cattoys.com); and Star Pet Products and Services, for northern California [March 2006 PET AGE]

PetEdge (Topsfield, Mass.) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Founded in 1956, the company began by selling vaccines and veterinary supplies to farmers, and now offers more than 12,000 pet supplies to pet retailers and pet-care professionals via catalog and the Internet. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Petland Inc. (Chillicothe, Ohio) in January raised more than $21,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by “arresting” more than 60 of its corporate employees, “charging” them with kindness and asking them to “post bail.” [March 2006 PET AGE]

Pets Best (Boise, Idaho), a division of General Fire & Casualty Co., in January began providing comprehensive insurance plans for pets in 24 states, and launched a free veterinarian locator service on its Web site (www.petsbest.com). [March 2006 PET AGE]

Petstuf.com, operated by BP Enterprises (Vero Beach, Fla.), launched in December, offering more than 2,000 products for dogs, cats and horses. The company offers free shipping on most items. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Ruff-doggie Inc. (Bayshore, N.Y.) has gone global, offering its handcrafted leather collars and leashes and its Ruff-puppy Teethers through two distributors in Ireland and the United Kingdom. [March 2006 PET AGE]

Skamper Industries L.L.C. (Mount Pleasant, S.C.), maker of the Skamper-Ramp, reported that its sales doubled in 2005 versus 2004, surpassing all projections for the year. [March 2006 PET AGE]

TetraPond (Blacksburg, Va.) launched TetraCare, a new program designed to provide all levels of water gardeners with the tools they need to maximize success in the hobby. The program offers useful information at www.tetrapond.com as well as access to trained water gardening professionals via e-mail or phone at 800-423-6458. [March 2006 PET AGE]

That Fish Place/That Pet Place (Lancaster, Pa.) plans to implement Profitability Software Suite by ProfitCenter Software Inc. (Uniondale, N.Y.) to integrate sales, fulfillment and accounting. [March 2006 PET AGE]

VERMONT—Ear Cropping. Senate Bill 250, to prohibit ear cropping in Vermont, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in January and moved to the full Senate. The bill was amended to state that owners will not be penalized if they have their dogs’ ears cropped in another state where the practice is legal. [March 2006 PET AGE]

The Drinkwell pet fountain by Veterinary Ventures Inc. (Reno, Nev.) is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Developed by a veterinarian, the original fountain features a free-falling stream to encourage pets to drink. [March 2006 PET AGE]

VIRGINIA—Pet Dealer Requirements for Animal Examinations. House Bill 606, introduced in January, requires any pet dealer selling dogs or cats represented as registered or capable of being registered to provide documentation of an examination by a licensed veterinarian. [March 2006 PET AGE]

VIRGINIA—Mandatory Spay/Neuter. The sponsor of Senate Bill 55, which requires dealers, pet stores and other sellers to sterilize and microchip companion animals before releasing them to new owners, in January postponed the bill indefinitely.