Central Garden & Pet Co. (Walnut Creek, Calif.) completed its acquisition of Farnam Cos. Inc. (Phoenix) in February. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Chomp Inc. (Weymouth, Mass.) awarded a $500 grand prize to Alsip Nursery (Frankfort, Ill.) and $100 runner-up prizes to seven additional pet stores as part of its Secret Shopper program. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Contech Electronics Inc. (Victoria, British Columbia) inked distribution agreements with Petland Inc. (Chillicothe, Ohio) for Canada and H&H Distributing Co. Inc. (Ann Arbor, Mich.) for the eastern United States. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Crazy Pet L.L.C. (Azusa, Calif.) signed Rudducks Pty. Ltd. as master pet distributor for Australia and New Zealand. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Cutter’s Mill: The Natural Pet Place opened in the Barclay Farms Shopping Center in Cherry Hill, N.J. Likened to a cross between Whole Foods and Pottery Barn, the 7,000-square-foot store offers natural, organic and holistic pet foods and specialty products. A second Cutter’s Mill store is slated to open this spring in the New Britain Shopping Center in Chalfont, N.J. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Ethical Products Inc. (Bloomfield, N.J.) gave its President’s Award to Jim Bradley, president of Bradley Caldwell Inc. (Hazleton, Pa.), for the distributor’s superb support of Spot and Fashion Pet brands. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Co. (Wheeling, Ill.) signed Companion Dog Express as a distributor for Ontario. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Co. (Wheeling, Ill.) donated $12,000 in merchandise to Kane Area Rehabilitation and Education for Wildlife (North Aurora, Ill.), a nonprofit organization that rehabilitates injured and orphaned animals and provides educational programs to the community. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Fe-Lines Inc. (Fort Worth, Texas), maker of Sticky Paws cat-scratching deterrent, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. [May 2006 PET AGE]

TheFerretStore.com was a finalist in the Consumer Specialty Products category of the 21st Annual Multichannel Merchant Awards, presented by Multichannel Merchant magazine to honor outstanding e-commerce sites. The FerretStore.com is a Web property of Neeps Inc. (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.). [May 2006 PET AGE]

Wardley 3 in 1 Water Conditioner by The Hartz Mountain Corp. (Secaucus, N.J.) received a U.S. patent as a composition for conditioning water used in aquariums. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Hikari Sales USA Inc. (Hayward, Calif.) recently recorded the 3 millionth measured impression with an Internet advertising program that began in July 2004 on PetFishTalk.com (San Diego). [May 2006 PET AGE]

INDIANA—Pesticide Registration Fees. House Bill 1065, to raise pesticide registration fees from $75 to $170 per product annually and to impose late fees, passed the House and Senate. A portion of the increased fees will be used to provide education about the safe and effective use of pesticides. [May 2006 PET AGE]

The Kong Co. (Golden, Colo.) recently was recognized by The Humane Society of the United States (Washington) for donating 40,000 pet toys and treats to Hurricane Katrina pet rescue efforts, and by the Dumb Friends League (Denver) for contributions to its Pledges for Pets fund-raising program. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Lambert Kay/Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (Princeton, N.J.) gave its Shelter of the Year Award to Noah’s Wish (Placerville, Calif.) for its efforts to help animals stranded by Hurricane Katrina. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Opened as the world’s first oceanarium in 1938, Marineland (Marineland, Fla.) reopened its doors in March. The historic attraction is undergoing major renovation, and is slated to open a new 1.3 million-gallon Dolphin Conservation Center this spring. [May 2006 PET AGE]

MASSACHUSETTS—Bird Sales. Senate Bill 2195, to prohibit the import of unweaned birds into the state, in March passed the Joint Community Development and Small Business Committee and was sent to the floor of both houses. The bill also charges the Department of Food and Agriculture with promulgating rules regarding the age and size at which each species of bird can be sold or transported into the Commonwealth. [May 2006 PET AGE]

NexPet Retailer Group (New York) introduced the “Advanced Aquatics Skills Assessment” and “NexPet Breed Advisor” training programs for pet store employees. The new programs can be customized, downloaded and used on members’ Web sites, and are available in a workbook format. [May 2006 PET AGE]

OHIO—Breed-Specific Legislation. The Sixth District Court of Appeals in March ruled that local and state breed-specific “vicious” dog laws were unconstitutional. It found such laws violated owners’ right to due process because they do not give owners an opportunity to appeal a “vicious” dog ruling before being penalized. [May 2006 PET AGE]

OKLAHOMA—Breed-Specific Legislation. Senate Bill 1569 and Senate Bill 1702, to permit cities and counties to enact breed-specific legislation, died in committee. Breed-specific legislation is prohibited by state law. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Omega Paw Inc. (Saint Marys, Ontario) signed Ryan’s Pet Supplies (Phoenix) as a distributor for 10 of its products for the United States, and Yamas (Saint-Hyacinth, Quebec) as a distributor for Quebec. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Oxbow Academy, a division of Oxbow Pet Products (Murdock, Neb.), awarded $500 to Corby Holson and David Martinez-Jimenez, students at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine (Athens), in its 2005 Small Animal Awareness Poster Contest. Their poster covered rabbit skull radiology. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Pawz for Health (Severn, Md.) now provides online and in-home consultation on improving canine nutrition and health. The company also offers articles on related topics at its Web site, www.pawzforhealth.com. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Pet Ecology Brands Inc. (Dallas) signed distribution agreements with Columbus Serum Co. (Columbus, Ohio), for 26 states; Dog Town USA (New Castle, Del.), for specialty retailers in Delaware; Middle West Distributors Inc. (West Chicago, Ill.), for greater Chicago and the surrounding areas; Paws-itively Purr-fect Nutrition (Southbridge, Mass.), for Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut; and Veterinary Resource Group (Gig Harbor, Wash.), for veterinary clinics and hospitals in Washington. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Pet Supermarket (Plantation, Fla.) provided funding and manpower to hand out Frisbees, tennis balls, kid-size T-shirts, bowls of water for dogs, dog bandanas and coupons for the Walk for the Animals fund-raiser organized by the Humane Society of Broward County. [May 2006 PET AGE]

PetSaleAve.com (Indianapolis) helps upscale boutiques and designers sell overstock and discontinued items nationwide at reasonable prices. The site features a Barkin Basement, special events calendar, birthday club, monthly contests and more. [May 2006 PET AGE]

PetSmart Inc. (Phoenix) reported net sales of $1.05 billion for the 2005 fourth quarter, compared with $934.3 million for the year-earlier period. Comparable store sales grew 4.5 percent in the quarter. Service-related sales were $79.5 million for the quarter, up 27 percent from the year-earlier period. The company opened 36 new stores and closed one location in the quarter. [May 2006 PET AGE]

PetSmart Inc. (Phoenix) is using online merchandising software by Mercent (Palm Desert, Calif.) to promote thousands of products at Amazon.com. The software automates the publication of PetSmart’s online catalog directly to Amazon.com. [May 2006 PET AGE]

PetSmart Inc. (Phoenix) won a gold Retail Award for Creativity, Innovation and Excellence for a fourth-quarter TV spot and a silver award for a fourth-quarter multi-media campaign from the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (Chicago). [May 2006 PET AGE]

Shure Pets (Chicago), a direct seller of pet products and accessories, in March signed its 1,000th pet consultant, representing growth of more than 250 percent in a year. [May 2006 PET AGE]

Target Corp. (Minneapolis) recently launched its own brand of superpremium pet foods, LifeLong. The line includes lamb and rice and chicken and rice formulas for adult dogs, Healthy Weight chicken and rice formula for adult dogs, a lamb and rice formula for puppies, and a chicken and rice formula for adult cats. [May 2006 PET AGE]

WASHINGTON—Aviary Inspections. The Pierce County Council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee in February postponed indefinitely a proposal to extend inspection and licensing to aviaries as well as kennels, catteries, grooming parlors and pet shops. [May 2006 PET AGE]
Zuke’s (Durango, Colo.), a manufacturer of all-natural pet treats and dental bones, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. [May 2006 PET AGE]