ARFY’S MERCANTILE FOR DOGS & CATS (Fort Collins, Colo.) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Arfy’s Pet Treats by sponsoring a monthly Adopt-a-Pet program with local rescue groups and offering low-cost pet vaccinations through a mobile veterinarian. [April 2007 PET AGE]

Brendan Humphrey, co-founder Petpals, a pet-sitting franchise in the United Kingdom, joined the board of AUSSIE PET MOBILE INC. (Dana Point, Calif.). The worldwide mobile dog grooming franchise operates more than 330 units and was preparing to launch in the United Kingdom at press time. [April 2007 PET AGE]

AVVAA WORLD HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS INC. (Lumby, British Columbia), which makes skin care products for pets, is sponsoring Team Missy, a team of Labrador retrievers that excel in Dock Dog competitions. The team will promote the company’s products at various venues and through its Web site. [April 2007 PET AGE]

GSN will air coverage of THE CAT FANCIERS’ ASSOCIATION’S (Manasquan, N.J.) 19th Annual International Cat Championship at 7 p.m. EST on April 1 and at noon EST on April 7. The two-hour special formerly was scheduled to air on March 27. [April 2007 PET AGE]

CENTER OF ATTENTION (Denver) launched a fashion boutique at www.inthecenterofattention.com, offering attire for dogs in the “Puppy Love” section. [April 2007 PET AGE]

CENTRAL GARDEN & PET CO. (Walnut Creek, Calif.) reported net sales of $317 million for the 2007 first quarter, up 8 percent from $293 million in the year-earlier period. Net sales for the pet products segment were $202 million, up 21 percent from $167 million in the year-earlier period. [April 2007 PET AGE]

Cesar Millan, the dog trainer of “Dog Whisperer” fame, and his wife, Ilusion, founded THE CESAR AND ILUSION MILLAN FOUNDATION (Los Angeles) to support the rescue, rehabilitation and placement of abused and abandoned dogs throughout the United States. [April 2007 PET AGE]

CRAZY PET L.L.C. (Azusa, Calif.) signed a license agreement allowing STA ELEMENTS (Orlando, Fla.), which provides upscale personal care products to the hotel and airline industries, to make beds, toys, brushes, bowls, leashes, collars and clothing featuring the Crazy Dog and Crazy Cat characters. The products are expected to ship in the 2007 third quarter. [April 2007 PET AGE]

ETERNAL IMAGE INC. (Farmington Hills, Mich.) planned to ship 1,000 American Kennel Club pet urns in 100 days, beginning March 15. The urns are available through the company, as well as AKC.com and Cherrybrook.com. [April 2007 PET AGE]

FANCY FURS (Lexington, Ky.), which specializes in pet couture, was selected to design a piece of jewelry for a fund-raiser sponsored by the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show to benefit Angel on a Leash, a national organization that supports training, evaluation and certification procedures for therapy pets. [April 2007 PET AGE]

FETCH! PET CARE INC., a franchise offering professional pet sitting and dog walking services, recently opened locations in Placerville, Calif., and Scottsdale, Ariz. It now has 62 locations. [April 2007 PET AGE]

FLORIDA—RFID Tagging of Exotic Pets. Effective Jan. 1, 2008, several species of pythons, as well as green anacondas and Nile monitor lizards, will have to have integrated transponders—passive low-frequency RFID tags—injected under their skin once the animals reach a diameter of 2 inches, according to the RFID Journal. The state is requiring tagging so wildlife enforcement officers can to track down the snakes’ owners in an effort to reduce the burgeoning number of non-native snakes in the wild. Other new regulations approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation include mandatory permits, bite-response plans and specific cage requirements for the reptiles. [April 2007 PET AGE]

GODFREY’S—WELCOME TO DOGDOM, a Mohnton, Pa.-based store offering gifts for dogs and dog lovers, was named a finalist in Forbes magazine’s Enterprise Awards for outstanding businesses that demonstrate visionary practices and achievements. [April 2007 PET AGE]

GROOMERS HELPER (Margate City, N.J.) signed REN’S PETS DEPOT (Oakville, Ontario), a service with 33 years’ experience, to expand the distribution of its professional grooming products in Canada.

THE HONEST KITCHEN INC. (San Diego) reported an earnings increase of more than 68 percent for the 2006 fiscal year. The company donated more than 14 percent of 2006 net profits to humanitarian, environmental and nonprofit animal welfare organizations as part of its Pawlanthropy program. [April 2007 PET AGE]

IDAHO—Animal Remedies. All animal remedies sold in the state would have to be registered with the Idaho Department of Agriculture under a bill introduced in January. House Bill 57 defines animal remedy as any “pharmaceutical, proprietary medicine, veterinary biologics, or combination of these substances and other ingredients other than for food or cosmetic purposes, which is prepared or compounded for any animal use intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of animals other than man.” This term does not include medicated feeds. [April 2007 PET AGE]

IDEAL PET PRODUCTS (Valencia, Calif.) signed PIG IN THE MUD PTY LTD. (New South Wales, Australia) as its exclusive representative in Australia. [April 2007 PET AGE]

ILLINOIS—Pesticide and Commercial Feed Fees. A bill to decrease fees paid to the state, including pesticide fees, was introduced in January. Under the proposal, pesticide registration fees would be reduced from $200 to $130. The bill also would reduce inspection fees for commercial feed, from $75 to $50 for pet and specialty pet food distributed in packages of less than 10 pounds, and from 20 cents per ton to 16 cents per ton for larger packages. [April 2007 PET AGE]

JLA HOME (Fremont, Calif.) acquired FLEXI-MAT CORP. (Plainfield, Ill.), which manufactures pet bedding for all channels of distribution, from American Capital Strategies Ltd. (Bethesda, Md.) in February. Terms of the deal—which included all real estate, production and warehouse equipment, intellectual properties and patents—were not disclosed.
The new JLA Pet Goods Division will operate under the Flexi-Mat name with a core team of former Flexi-Mat managers and employees, according to Scott White, senior vice president of sales for JLA Home.
The 150,000-square-foot production and distribution facility gives JLA Home distribution capabilities in the Midwest as well as the ability to expand.
Flexi-Mat, founded in 1948, had revenues of $60 million in 2006. [April 2007 PET AGE]

JOELL SULLIVAN PET PRODUCT MARKETING (Austin, Texas) is helping the U.S. Air Force find amenities for pets that accompany military families to the Kirtland Inn/Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. [April 2007 PET AGE]

KEEP IT CLEAN (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) provided Complete Pet Dental Kits to be included in gift bags for celebrities who attended the 49th Annual Grammy Awards and the 79th Annual Academy Awards. [April 2007 PET AGE]

The Whole Dog Journal added Chicken & Barley and Lamb & Barley baked dry foods from LIFE4K9 PET FOOD CORP. (Atlanta) to its list of approved foods for 2007. [April 2007 PET AGE]

The Kurgo Auto Zip Line, a safety harness and restraint system for dogs traveling by automobile, received two international awards for best product from the Specialty Equipment Market Association. The product is made by MOTIVATION DESIGN L.L.C. (Newburyport, Mass.). [April 2007 PET AGE]

MY DOG VOTES (New York), a T-shirt brand dedicated to “saving dogs and democracy,” will donate a portion of the proceeds from its new “Love Does Not Discriminate” collection to support a public awareness campaign against breed discrimination. [April 2007 PET AGE]

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WHOLESALER-DISTRIBUTORS (Washington) changed the name of its Distribution Research and Education Foundation to the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence to more clearly identify research activities with NAW. [April 2007 PET AGE]

Continuing its campaign against the retail sale of animals, PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS (Norfolk, Va.) is asking consumers to boycott PetSmart stores until they stop selling pets. The animal-rights organization claims PetSmart does not provide adequate living conditions for animals or adequate veterinary care, based on a three-month undercover investigation of two stores. [April 2007 PET AGE]

PET BUTLER (Dallas), a pet waste cleanup and removal service, generated revenues of $2 million for 2006. With franchise operations serving nearly 1,000 towns in 15 states, the company exceeded its growth plan by 60 percent. [April 2007 PET AGE]

As part of its “Every Dog Deserves a Bed” program for animal shelters, the PETFINDER.COM FOUNDATION (Tucson, Ariz.) gave free beds from KURANDA USA INC. (Annapolis, Md.) to Blue Mountain Humane Society (Walla Walla, Wash.), Buchanan County Animal Shelter (Grundy, Va.), Cherokee County Animal Control (Gaffney, S.C.), Franklin County Animal Shelter (Rocky Mount, Va.), Mercer County Animal Shelter (Harrodsburg, Ky.), New Kent Animal Shelter (New Kent, Va.), Pickaway County Dog Shelter, (Circleville, Ohio), Roane County Animal Shelter (Rockwood, Tenn.) and Smithville Animal Control (Smithville, Tenn.). [April 2007 PET AGE]

PETLAND INC. (Chillicothe, Ohio) ranked 192 in Entrepreneur Magazine’s 28th Annual Franchise 500—among the top 10 percent of all domestic franchises. Additionally, the company ranked 140 in the magazine’s list of America’s Top Global Franchises for 2007. [April 2007 PET AGE]

At press time, PETSMART INC. (Phoenix) planned to acquire and rebrand 19 Super Pet stores in Ontario, Canada, by late summer, a move that will expand the company’s presence in key markets across the region. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. PetSmart operated 33 stores in four Canadian provinces before the acquisition. [April 2007 PET AGE]

The PLANET DOG FOUNDATION (Portland, Maine) donated more than $45,000 to canine service programs, donated $50,000 worth of products to fund-raisers for nonprofit organizations and provided new collars for thousands of shelter dogs in its first year under its revised mission. [April 2007 PET AGE]

ROPE-N-GO THE ORIGINAL HARDWARE-FREE PET HARNESS (Santa Fe, N.M.), which recently launched an e-commerce site for consumers (www.ropengo.com), is accepting limited distributorship through pet boutiques. For more information, e-mail cybele@ropengo.com. [April 2007 PET AGE]

ROYAL PET SUPPLIES INC. (Brentwood, N.Y.) launched Royal Rewards, a point-based customer appreciation program in which retailers can earn valuable name-brand prizes. Participating vendors will provide additional points for every dollar spent on their products during a promotional period. For details, contact Royal at 800-7-ROYAL-7 or (631) 243-2300, Ext. 452. [April 2007 PET AGE]

SPECTRUM BRANDS INC. (Atlanta) reported net sales of $564.6 million for the 2007 first quarter, compared with net sales of $566.3 million for the year-earlier period. Net sales for the global pet segment were $137.7 million, up 4 percent from the year-earlier period, driven by robust growth of companion animal products and Tetra branded products. [April 2007 PET AGE]

STUDIO ONE NETWORKS (New York) created and syndicated The Divine Cat (www.thedivinecat.com), an interactive Internet program that provides information about caring for cats, for Fresh Step cat litter. [April 2007 PET AGE]

TANKERTOYS.COM (Monterey, Calif.), a new Web site, offers reviews of toys, treats and other products for large dogs. The site is based on Tanker, a 120-pound Rottweiler adopted last August from the SPCA of Monterey County. [April 2007 PET AGE]

VETERINARY VENTURES INC. (Reno, Nev.) donated nearly $4,000—partial proceeds from the sale of limited-edition pink Drinkwell Pet Fountains—to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. [April 2007 PET AGE]

WEIS MARKETS INC. (Sunbury, Pa.) reported sales of $577.6 million for the 2006 fourth quarter, compared with $601.9 million for the year-earlier period. In addition to operating 156 stores in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the company operates 31 SuperPetz locations in 10 states. [April 2007 PET AGE]

WET PETS of Dothan, Ala., was open for business shortly after it caught fire in February, according to published news reports. Although it was quickly extinguished by firefighters, the fire, which started in a snake cage in the back of the store, killed nine animals. [April 2007 PET AGE]

WILD KITTY CAT FOOD (Kennebunkport, Maine) in February voluntarily recalled all lots of its Raw Chicken With Clam Recipe (3.5- and 16-ounce sizes), Raw Duck With Clam Recipe (3.5- and 16-ounce sizes), and Raw Tuna With Conch Recipe (3.5-ounce size) after Food and Drug Administration investigators found traces of Salmonella in the foods. For more information about the recall, call Wild Kitty Cat Food at (207) 985-6134. [April 2007 PET AGE]