Amcol International Corp. (Arlington Heights, Ill.) reported net sales of $111.6 million for the 2004 fourth quarter, compared with $93.6 million for the same period in 2003. The parent company of American Colloid Co., Amcol produces and markets a wide range of specialty mineral products for industrial, environmental and consumer-related applications. [April 2005 PET AGE]

The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (Greenwich, Conn.) offers a news section and allows members to update their information at its revamped Web site (www.appma.org). [April 2005 PET AGE]

Animal Health Options (Golden, Colo.) recently began marketing its nutritional supplements and antioxidants for animals through Yuhan Corp., one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Korea. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Apothepet (Washington), a national full-service veterinary pharmacy, offers flavored liquid medications, herbal formulations and consultations with a full staff of registered pharmacists and veterinarians. The company accepts prescription requests by phone, fax and online at www.apothepet.com, and delivers directly to customers’ doors. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Barbara’s Canine Catering Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.), which makes all-natural treats and operates a cafe for dogs, expanded its wholesale arm by increasing production capacity and adding new treats, such as Wheat and Corn Free Apple Canine Biscuits, to its line. In addition, the company is offering a greater variety of specialty dog foods and hard-to-find all-natural dog spa products in its retail store and Web site. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Central Garden & Pet Co. (Walnut Creek, Calif.) in January filed a universal shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, so it can periodically sell shares of its common and preferred stock, warrants to purchase its common or preferred stock, or any combination of such securities for proceeds up to $300 million. Proceeds from the offering will be used for internal growth and acquisition initiatives. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Central Garden & Pet Co. (Walnut Creek, Calif.) reported net sales of $265.6 million for the 2005 first quarter, up 19 percent from net sales of $222.4 million for the 2004 first quarter. Net income was $2.5 million, compared with a net loss of $600,000 for the year-earlier period. Strong growth and margin expansion of the company’s pet brands and acquisitions completed after the first quarter of fiscal 2004 contributed to the sales growth. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (Princeton, N.J.) reported sales of $405 million for the 2004 fourth quarter, up 4 percent from $286.7 million in 2003 fourth quarter. Net income was $11.9 million, compared with net income of $15.9 million for the year-earlier period. Sales of Arm & Hammer Super Scoop cat litter were higher than sales for the year-earlier period. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (New York) cut 12 percent of its workforce and closed a third of its factories after its quarterly profit fell to $285.7 million. Last September, the company issued its first earnings warning in almost a decade, due in part to higher costs for raw materials. The company’s products include Hill’s pet food. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Judge R. Gary Klausner of U.S. District in California in January ruled that Del Monte Foods Co. (San Francisco) infringed a patent for pet treats with soft centers held by Mars Inc. (McLean, Va.). Klausner granted Mars’ motion for summary judgment on patent infringement and ordered the case to proceed to jury trial to determine damages. At press time, the trial had not yet taken place. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Dogswell (San Francisco) signed General Pet Supply Inc. (Milwaukee) to distribute its supplement treats. General Pet covers more than 14 states. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Fin-N-Feather, a pet store in Eureka, Calif., recently received a Keep Eureka Beautiful Committee Award of Merit for a mural promoting cats, dogs, birds, fish and other domestic and exotic animals. The mural was painted on the building last year. [April 2005 PET AGE]

GPC Pet Products (Muscatine, Iowa) recognized P&P Pet Products Distributor Inc. (Lakeville, Mass.) and Animal Supply Logistics (Santa Rosa, Calif.) as Distributors of the Year for increased placement and sales of World’s Best Cat Litter and World’s Best Little Pet Litter. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Sales training and materials provided by GPC Pet Products (Muscatine, Iowa) helped the Muscatine High School’s Future Farmers of America club place in the top 20 in the national FFA Ag Sales competition last year. The competition consisted of individual exams and team sales presentations to a panel of judges. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Gourmet Pet Supply Inc. (Albuquerque, N.M.), the 13-year-old maker of Beak Appetit gourmet bird food, received a $390,000 investment from Mesa Venture L.L.C. (Santa Fe, N.M.). The equity investment will allow GPS to boost advertising and marketing campaigns, bring more products to market and add more domestic and international distributors. [April 2005 PET AGE]

The Hartz Mountain Corp. (Secaucus, N.J.) recently purchased shed-care technology as well as related intellectual property and physical assets from Rapid Brands Corp. (Flint, Mich.) to strengthen its product development and marketing efforts in the pet grooming and beauty care category. Hartz also entered into a long-term agreement to develop new products based on innovative adhesive and grooming technologies. The acquisition includes Speedy Groom brushes and the Speedy Groom Spinning Massage Brush. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. in January announced plans to invest more than $30 million to expand its Topeka, Kan.-based headquarters and research facilities. The investment follows the February 2002 expansion of the company’s manufacturing facility. [April 2005 PET AGE]

The Honest Kitchen Inc. (San Diego) signed a distribution agreement with Pet Food Express (San Leandro, Calif.). The sixth largest pet food retailer in the United States, Pet Food Express operates approximately 30 stores in the San Francisco Bay area. [April 2005 PET AGE]

The Honest Kitchen Inc. (San Diego) recently embarked on a marketing venture with Hike With Your Dog (Montchanin, Del.), which organizes pet-friendly hiking and camping adventures, to target customers who take dogs on outdoor trips. [April 2005 PET AGE]

K&W Distributing Co. Inc. moved to a 91,000-square-foot facility at 235 Norwest Drive in Clyde, Ohio. The company distributes pet foods across the country and offers truck delivery to six states. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Latka’s Delicious Doggie Treats (New York) donated 10 percent of sales proceeds from its third annual Have a Heart campaign to Stray From the Heart, an animal rescue organization in New York. The campaign ran from Jan. 1 through Feb. 28. [April 2005 PET AGE]

MariCal Inc. (Portland, Maine), a marine science and technology company, and Dyer Aqua L.L.C. d.b.a. Maritech/Proaquatix (Sebastian, Fla.), a science-based marine aquaculture company, in January entered an agreement to work together to develop methods of raising and maintaining marine ornamental fish species in freshwater conditions. Their research will be based on MariCal’s knowledge of calcium receptor proteins, which are the master salinity sensors in fish. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Masterfoods USA (Haddonfield, N.J.) in January launched a global marketing campaign—print, online and TV ads, outdoor advertising in key U.S. markets and an adoption advocacy initiative—celebrating the things that people love most about dogs to show that Pedigree is always focused on what is right for dogs. Consumer promotions will support the campaign throughout the year. [April 2005 PET AGE]

To meet increasing demand for its Old Mother Hubbard and Wellness foods, Old Mother Hubbard (Chelmsford, Mass.) will expand operations with longtime East Coast and West Coast manufacturing partners and close its local facility in Lowell, eliminating approximately 90 positions by mid-2005. The expanded partnerships will allow the company to focus more resources on new product development, retailer support and consumer marketing. Old Mother Hubbard experienced record sales in 2004, doubled the size of its sales force and increased its retail presence by 33 percent to 4,000 independent pet stores in North America. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Pet Health Institute (Portland, Ore.) added two distributors for its PHI digestive aids: Key Products (Franklin, Ill.) for metro Chicago and Columbus, Ohio; and B&L Pet Supply (Mukiltea, Wash.) for Alaska, Washington, western Montana, northern Idaho and northwest Oregon. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Petco Animal Supplies Inc. (San Diego) in January adopted a new holding company to provide a more efficient legal structure to execute current and future strategies. As a result of the restructuring, the retail chain became a subsidiary of the holding company and changed its name to Petco Animal Supplies Stores Inc. Its business operations have not changed as a result of the restructuring. The new holding company has taken the Petco Animal Supplies Inc. name and trades under the same “PETC” symbol on the Nasdaq stock market. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Petco Animal Supplies Inc. (San Diego) selected Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc. (Frisco, Texas) to provide point-of-sale hardware for all its new store openings. [April 2005 PET AGE]

The Public Service Canine Healthcare Fund, created by the Petco Foundation (San Gabriel, Calif.) and the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (Ojai, Calif.), has provided medical care to approximately 30 certified search, arson, detection and patrol dogs since its inception in January 2004. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Six consolidated class-action suits against PetMed Express Inc. (Pompano Beach, Fla.) and several of its officers were voluntarily dismissed by plaintiffs in February. [April 2005 PET AGE]

PetMed Express Inc. (Pompano Beach, Fla.) reported net sales of $20.8 million for the 2004 third quarter, up 21 percent from net sales of $17.2 million for the 2003 third quarter. Net income was $2 million for the quarter, up 60 percent from net income of $1.2 million for the year-earlier period. [April 2005 PET AGE]

PetsMart Inc. (Phoenix) revised its outlook for the fiscal 2004 fourth quarter, expecting comparable-store sales growth of approximately 5 percent. The company experienced a slower-than-expected holiday selling season due to efforts to tightly control operating expenses and inventories, but saw results improve and sales return to normal as the quarter progressed. [April 2005 PET AGE]

PuppyPurse (Oradell, N.J.) is donating 10 percent of sales from its Bark-for-the-Cure PuppyPurse pet carrier to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The carrier features a pink breast cancer ribbon design. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Rayovac Corp. (Atlanta) in February completed its acquisition of United Industries Corp. (St. Louis), the parent company of United Pet Group. Rayovac issued 13.75 million shares of its common stock and paid $70 million in cash to United Industries’ shareholders to complete the transaction. [April 2005 PET AGE]

RB Rubber Products Inc. (McMinnville, Ore.) recently became ISP 9001 compliant, and will pursue full ISO 9001 certification by the end of 2005. [April 2005 PET AGE]

SearchDogUSA, the licensing arm of the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (Ojai, Calif.), agreed to make Metacam by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (St. Joseph, Mo.) the official osteoarthritis and anti-inflammatory drug of its canines. In return, the foundation’s canines will appear in advertising and promotional materials for the drug. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Sears, Roebuck and Co. (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) in February launched a midsize off-mall store format called Sears Essentials, which will focus on product categories integral to home and family life, including pet supplies. The first 25 Sears Essentials stores are scheduled to open this spring. [April 2005 PET AGE]

United Pet Group (Cincinnati), the pet products division of United Industries Corp. (St. Louis), in January acquired Firstrax (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), a privately held marketer of portable doghouses, collapsible animal containment systems, pet bedding and toys. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Firstrax distributes Noztonoz brand products to pet specialty stores, and Petnation brand products to mass-market retailers. The company generated sales of more than $20 million in 2004. [April 2005 PET AGE]

Weis Markets Inc. (Sunbury, Pa.) reported sales of $537 million for the 2004 fourth quarter, up 3.1 percent from $520.8 million for the 2003 fourth quarter. Net income was $15.1 million, up 6.7 percent from $14.1 million for the year-earlier period. Weis Markets operates 157 grocery stores in six states and also owns Superpetz (Hatfield, Pa.) a superstore chain with 33 units in 11 states. [April 2005 PET AGE]

WholesaleByUs L.L.C. (Bernardsville, N.J.), which recently increased its product offerings to approximately 30,000 items, is the first non-dealer to work with Ryan’s Pet Supply (Phoenix) or PetEdge (Topsfield, Mass.). [April 2005 PET AGE]

Zenimal, maker of the Sidewalker retractable leash, moved to a new product development, warehousing and fulfillment facility at 1755 E. Bayshore Road, Suite 21A, Redwood City, CA 94063. Contact the company at 877-ZENIMAL. [April 2005 PET AGE]

The organizers of Zoomark International 2005, scheduled for May 5-8 at the BolognaFiere convention center in Bologna, Italy, added a ticket request form to their Web site, allowing visitors to pre-register at no charge. Other enhancements to the site include a new “How to Visit” page that summarizes useful travel information. [April 2005 PET AGE]