Aquascape Designs Inc. (St. Charles, Ill.) acquired PondSweep Manufacturing Co. (Yorkville, Ill.), a manufacturer of multi-element filtration systems. PondSweep will become a division of Aquascape. Gary Wittstock, chief executive officer of PondSweep, will remain with the company as a consultant. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Atomic Pet (Bridgeport, Conn.) launched a licensed products division targeting sports, character and company licensing businesses for its line of glowing pet products. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Bella’s Pet Boutique (Newport, Ore.) donated proceeds from a Year of the Dog fund-raiser to the Central Coast Humane Society (Newport, Ore.). The event included a canine and human fashion show, a “yappy” hour, a look-alike contest and doggie raffle baskets. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Central Garden & Pet Co. (Walnut Creek, Calif.) combined two of its subsidiaries, Kaytee Products Inc. (Chilton, Wis.) and Super Pet (Elk Grove Village, Ill.), to form the Bird and Small Animal Strategic Business Unit. The unified product development team is headed by Robert Krause, president, Jim Glassford, vice president of marketing, and Brian Kindl, vice president of sales. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Central Garden & Pet Co. (Walnut Creek, Calif.) reported net sales of $293 million for the 2006 first quarter, up 10 percent from $266 million for the year-earlier period. Net sales for the pet products segment were $167 million, up 6.6 percent from $156 million for the year-earlier period. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (Princeton, N.J.) reported net sales of $431.3 million for the 2005 fourth quarter, up 6.5 percent from $405 million for the year-earlier period. Its household products sales increased 7 percent in the quarter due in part to strong growth for pet products, and its specialty products sales increased 8 percent due in part to growth in animal nutrition products. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Buddy Biscuit Baked Dog Treats from Cloud Star Corp. (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) will display stickers about “Doogal,” an animated film about a candy-loving mutt, as part of the company’s first promotional tie-in with a motion picture. Cloud Star also will run a “Doogal” sweepstakes on its Web site (www.cloudstar.com), offering “Doogal” DVDs, autographed film posters and a variety of its own products. [April 2006 PET AGE]

DZ Enterprises (St. Louis) is launching a reseller and distributor alliance program for its DZ Pet Pals DVD, which provides continuous-play entertainment for dogs and cats. For more information, call (314) 968-8423 or visit www.dzpetpalsvideo.com. [April 2006 PET AGE]

DogChewz NYC (New York) donated 720 bowl sets to the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, as well as beds and blankets for a silent auction and raffle at a benefit for Animal Care and Control of NYC. The alliance is working to make New York a no-kill city. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Dogster Inc., creator of Dogster.com and Catster.com, partnered with Simply Hired (Mountain View, Calif.) to launch a Web site that helps users search for jobs at more than 400 dog-friendly companies. Visit www.simplyhired.com/dogfriendly. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Dogswell opened a new corporate headquarters at 8800 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills, Calif. [April 2006 PET AGE]

World’s Best Cat Litter by GPC Pet Products (Muscatine, Iowa) is the 2006 sponsor of “Veterinary Minute” on Animal Radio. The weekly segment airs on more than 90 radio stations across the United States. [April 2006 PET AGE]

GlitzyPetJewelry.com (San Ramon, Calif.) is a new online pet boutique offering upscale pet jewelry and couture dog collars. [April 2006 PET AGE]

GoDog L.L.C. (Raritan, N.J.) signed a five-year licensing agreement with Stephen Huneck, an internationally acclaimed Vermont artist, to develop pet products for worldwide distribution under the Dog Mountain and Coleman brands. As licensor, Huneck will provide product design and packaging concepts for a full range of items, including dog toys, dog beds and furniture, pet carriers and decorative pet accessories. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Happy Tails (El Paso, Texas) signed Nema Inc. (Arlington, Mass.) as its manufacturers’ representative for the northeast United States and Canada; All Points Marketing (Lake Elsinore, Calif.), for the western United States and northwest Canada; Advanced Marketing Group (Barrington, Ill.), for the Midwest; and The Pet Firm (Phoenix), for Petco and PetSmart. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Dehydrated Raw Dog Food from the The Honest Kitchen Inc. (San Diego) was named the Best Dog Food Product of the Year by PupLife.com, an online retailer of dog supplies. Award winners were chosen on the basis of customer feedback, product testing results, overall sales and other factors. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Hunkydory *paper products (San Antonio) signed a distribution agreement with Emery-Burton, which will sell, warehouse, ship and invoice Hunkydory’s complete line of greeting cards for cat and dog lovers. [April 2006 PET AGE]

The Iams Co. (Dayton, Ohio) and the Helen Woodward Animal Center (San Diego) found new homes for 328,777 pets during the Iams Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption campaign, setting a new record for the program. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Jakks Pacific Inc. (Malibu, Calif.) reported net sales of $166.3 million for the 2005 fourth quarter, down 10 percent from $184.8 million for the year-earlier period. Net sales for the year were $661.5 million, up 15.2 percent from $574.3 million in 2004. The company designs and markets a broad range of consumer products, including pet toys and accessories. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Kay Berry (Saxonburg, Pa.) signed a distribution deal with Spring Water Gifts (Manitoulin Island, Ontario), which will handle sales, warehousing and distribution of its cast-stone products in Canada. [April 2006 PET AGE]

LuLu & Luigi L.L.C. (Minneapolis) launched an online version of its pet boutique at www.luluandlluigi.com, selling fashionable apparel, accessories and more. [April 2006 PET AGE]

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (Washington) is offering Restructuring the Distribution Sales Effort for Maximum Productivity, a book that explains how to make the transition from the traditional fully loaded sales force cost structure to new sales force models that promise higher profitability. To order, call (202) 872-0885 or visit www.naw.org/restructuring. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Nature’s Animals Inc. (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) launched www.naturesanimals.com, featuring downloadable images of its dog treats plus links to distributors, retailers and online catalogs. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Nestle Purina PetCare Co. (St. Louis) launched the Purina PetLover Savings program, a national campaign to help homeless pets across the country. During three in-store merchandising drives on key Purina brands, the company will donate up to $500,000 in food and support tied to use of PetLover coupons from Sunday newspaper inserts. Purina also set up an interactive Web site (www.purinapetlover.com) with PetLover promotions and links to other Purina brand offers. [April 2006 PET AGE]

OllyDog L.L.C. (Berkeley, Calif.) updated its Web site (www.ollydog.com) with a password-protected dealer page where retailers can download information, order forms and a copy of the company’s current catalog plus an easy-to-search store locator. [April 2006 PET AGE]

1-800-petsupplies.com (Los Angeles) launched in January, combining Horse.com, Dog.com, Bird.com, Ferret.com and Fish.com, as well as Country-Supply and Dogs Outfitter. The site offers thousands of pet products at wholesale and retail prices, interactive communities, and classified ads. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Pawsitively Posh (Exton, Pa.) is donating 10 percent of sales of its upscale pet accessories to the Animal Refuge Foundation (Sherman, Texas) for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Pembroke Consulting (Philadelphia) recently released The 2006 Wholesale Distribution Economic Factbook, a market data reference guide containing detailed economic statistics organized into 111 distinct subsectors of the overall wholesale distribution industry. For more information, call (215) 523-5700, Ext. 14, or visit www.pembrokeconsulting.com/factbook. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Pet Soup (Salt Lake City) signed an export agreement with Romac Export Management (Los Angeles), which will handle sales and marketing of its pet mats and accessories outside the United States. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Responding to an increase in the number of pets left homeless by Hurricane Katrina, PetArk (Poulsbo, Wash.) installed touch-screen kiosks in PetSmart stores and animal shelters in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to provide online access to pets available for adoption. [April 2006 PET AGE]

PetCareRx.com (Lynbrook, N.Y.) raised more than $25,000 through its I Saved a Pet Campaign to support the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts of Best Friends Animal Society (Kanab, Utah). [April 2006 PET AGE]

J.F. Kiely Construction Co. of Long Branch, N.J., the contractor whose work crew sparked a natural gas explosion that destroyed the Petco store in Eatontown, N.J., agreed to pay $36,000 to settle concerns of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, according to published reports. [April 2006 PET AGE]

PetGourmet Express, a pet food delivery service in Atlanta, updated its Web site with articles about breeding, grooming, training and nutrition; pages featuring major brands of dog and cat foods, treats and supplements; and monthly breed profiles. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Petland Inc. (Chillicothe, Ohio) raised $28,005 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to support cancer studies via a fund-raiser that “arrested” more than 60 corporate employees and set their “bail” at more than $21,000. [April 2006 PET AGE]

In its Score with Petland program, the Petland store in Cicero, N.Y., gave away vouchers for up to four tickets to a Syracuse Crunch hockey game to people who purchased a puppy between Jan 15. and Feb. 15. [April 2006 PET AGE]

PetSmart Inc. (Phoenix) selected Unicru Inc. (Portland, Ore.) as its hiring management vendor and will use the company’s system to recruit, screen and hire job candidates applying for all positions. PetSmart currently employs more than 30,000 people in the United States and Canada. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Planet Dog (Portland, Maine) created the Planet Dog Foundation to promote programs in which dogs serve and support those in need. The nonprofit grant-making foundation, which replaces Planet Dog Philanthropy, will allocate funding nationwide to programs affiliated with service, therapy, search and rescue, police, fire, and military dogs. For more information, visit www.planetdogfoundation.org. [April 2006 PET AGE]

The Quintessential Pet L.L.C. (Burlington, N.J.), an online boutique of luxury pet items, launched QP Luxury, a consulting and wholesale representation business for luxury pet boutiques. The business develops tailor-made packages that include online and offline marketing, Web design, advertising and graphics for startup or existing luxury pet boutiques. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Skamper Industries L.L.C. (Charleston, S.C.) doubled sales in 2005, surpassing all projections and expectations. [April 2006 PET AGE]

TheSophisticatedCat.com (Chicago) launched to offer an array of unique, stylish and trendy items for cats and owners at various price points. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Spectrum Brands Inc. (Atlanta) reported net sales of $620 million for the 2006 first quarter, up 26.3 percent from $490.8 million for the year-earlier period. North American net sales were $244.6 million, up 13.3 percent from $215.8 million for the year-earlier period.
The company’s new global pet segment, comprised of United Pet Group (Cincinnati), Tetra (Blacksburg, Va.) and Jungle Laboratories Corp. (Cibolo, Texas), contributed net sales of $132.7 million during the quarter, down 1.9 percent from $135.4 million for the year-earlier period. Strong growth in companion pet sales offset a decline in aquatic sales, which comprised 69 percent of the segment’s sales in the first quarter. [April 2006 PET AGE]

Dog-themed greeting cards from Verysupercool (Austin, Texas) were named Best of the New in the Trends 2006 issue of Greetings etc., a magazine for the greeting card industry. The award came only a few months after the card line’s launch. [April 2006 PET AGE]

VCA Charities, recently established by VCA Antech Inc. (Los Angeles), donated $10,000 to the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine (Baton Rouge) to support the Spirit of Veterinary Medicine Hurricane Katrina Animal Relief Fund. The funds will be used to assist animals affected by the disaster, to rescue and treat abandoned and neglected animals, to provide food and supplies, and to reunite lost pets with their owners. [April 2006 PET AGE]

CALIFORNIA—Animal License Fees. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is considering increasing the license fee for an intact animal from $30 to $200 as part of a proposed animal population ordinance. The proposal also calls for a $50 license for each show dog or cat. [April 2006 PET AGE]

ILLINOIS—Bird Sales. House Bill 4612, introduced in January, establishes standards of care for birds sold at pet stores and prohibits selling unweaned birds. [April 2006 PET AGE]

INDIANA—Kennel Inspections. House Bill 1418, amended to require the county animal control department to inspect only major kennels before the businesses can be licensed, passed the House in January. [April 2006 PET AGE]

NEW HAMPSHIRE—Pet Warranty. House Bill 1440, to impose a strict liability warranty on sellers of dogs, cats and ferrets, failed in committee. The bill would have expanded the statutory remedies available to purchasers of a diseased animal, including a refund of the purchase price or replacement with a pet of equal monetary value, in addition to reimbursement for any veterinary bills incurred between the time of sale and the veterinary certificate stating illness or cause of death. [April 2006 PET AGE]

RHODE ISLAND—Pet Warranty. House Bill 6263, introduced in January, would establish a new, comprehensive warranty law for sellers of dogs. The bill would apply to any commercial seller of dogs, whether at wholesale or retail. The bill includes a two-year warranty for congenital or hereditary conditions. [April 2006 PET AGE]

VERMONT—Ear Cropping. Senate Bill 250, to prohibit ear cropping in Vermont, passed the Senate in February. The bill would impose civil penalties up to $3,000 for a first offense and criminal charges for subsequent violations or for performing the procedure without anesthesia. [April 2006 PET AGE]

VIRGINIA—Insurance Discrimination. House Bill 1007, barring insurers from denying insurance based on ownership of certain breeds of dogs, was signed into law. [April 2006 PET AGE]

WASHINGTON—Exotic Pets. House Bill 1151, to prohibit ownership of exotic animals as pets, passed the House in January. The bill would regulate "potentially dangerous wild animals," whether bred in the wild or in captivity, including beaded lizards, including gila monsters, water monitors and crocodile monitors. The bill provides for permits, exceptions and penalties. [April 2006 PET AGE]