Apetite Foods Pty. Ltd. (Melbourne, Australia) contracted with McCabe Worldwide Trading (Corona, Calif.) to launch Pets Own lactose-free pet milks in the United States. Apetite Foods is the leading supplier of pet milk products in Australia, Japan and Korea. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Doggles (Diamond Springs, Calif.) signed international distribution agreements with several companies: DistriDog in France, Doggles Australia, H.P.P. (UK) Ltd. in the United Kingdom, Kane Vet Supplies Ltd. in Canada, Light House Co. Ltd. in Japan, Schulze Heimtierbedarf in Germany and Zoo G. Veterinaria in Italy. [June 2005 PET AGE]

4Kids Entertainment Inc. (New York) signed a multi-year agreement with The Cat Fanciers’ Association (Manasquan, N.J.) to become CFA’s exclusive worldwide merchandise licensing agent. 4Kids will represent licensed products such as cat treats, toys, food, beds, grooming products, health aids, scratching posts, carriers and apparel. The company also plans to develop items for U.S. cat owners. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Farnam Cos. Inc. (Phoenix) recently named winners in its Pamper Your Pet sweepstakes, held last fall to promote its pet health products: Cathy Stoba of Illinois, grand-prize winner in the dog category, received a Minnie’s Hideaway Dog House and Farnam products; and Lorilynne Lau of Hawaii, grand-prize winner in the cat category, received a 6-foot Purrfect Penthouse and Farnam products. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Farnam Pet Products (Phoenix) will underwrite Animal Radio, a syndicated radio program with 2 million weekly listeners, for another year. The program is produced by Animal Radio Network (Kanab, Utah). [June 2005 PET AGE]

GPC Pet Products (Muscatine, Iowa) recently launched an aggressive campaign to reinvigorate U.S. sales of Good Boy and Good Girl dog and cat treats. GPC is offering retailer discounts on minimum purchases, and plans to introduce floor displays and other point-of-sale merchandising programs. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Rolf C. Hagen (USA) Corp. (Mansfield, Mass.) recently began rolling out consumer-friendly Web sites for specific product lines, such as Living World (www.livingworld.com), Exo Terra (www.exo-terra.com) and Nutrience (www.nutrience.com). The informational sites sell no merchandise. [June 2005 PET AGE]

The Hartz Mountain Corp. (Secaucus, N.J.) contributed $100,000 to The Delta Society (Renton, Wash.) to add 800 Pet Partners teams to make animal visits to hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities. The Pet Partners program operates in all 50 states and five foreign countries, bringing animal therapy and visitation to more than 900,000 people annually. [June 2005 PET AGE]

The Hartz Mountain Corp. (Secaucus, N.J.) in April purchased Harper Pet Products Inc. (Bedford Park, Ill.) from Bertin Group (Lins, Brazil), and agreed to work with Bertin on a global basis. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Based on several thousand submissions to its second What a Pet Means to Me essay contest, The Hartz Mountain Corp. (Secaucus, N.J.) gave 40 elementary schools and 10 youngsters new pets, Hartz Pet Starter Kits and $25 Toys ‘R’ Us gift certificates. Starter kits consisted of a year’s worth of Hartz food, treats, toys and other products, along with cages or aquariums suitable for the pet selected by each winner. [June 2005 PET AGE]

The Iams Co. (Dayton, Ohio) and The Clorox Co. (Oakland, Calif.) in April partnered with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (New York) to promote the adoption of shelter cats. As part of the program, $2 consumer coupons for Iams cat food and Fresh Step cat litter were distributed to more than 40 million homes through newspapers nationwide. When redeemed, the coupons will result in a donation of up to $100,000 for the ASPCA. [June 2005 PET AGE]

The Iams Co. (Dayton, Ohio) and the Helen Woodward Animal Center (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) gave $5,000 grants to 20 pet adoption organizations as part of the sixth annual Iams Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption campaign. Created to encourage prospective pet owners to adopt orphaned animals during the winter holidays, the eight-week campaign ended with a record 313,000 adoptions at more than 1,800 participating organizations in all 50 states and 13 countries. [June 2005 PET AGE]

In Clover Inc. (Boulder, Colo.) earned an “A” rating in a quality control audit by the National Animal Supplement Council (Valley Center, Calif.), giving it the right to use the NASC Quality Seal on product labels. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Juno’s Garden (Pacifica, Calif.), manufacturer of Pal Dog natural grooming products, launched a Building the Bond campaign to educate first-time pet adopters about properly caring for, feeding and training their pets. The campaign centers around adoption kits, containing products and information on natural food, positive training techniques and more, which are donated to selected rescue groups and adoption organizations. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Nashville Wraps (Hendersonville, Tenn.), which markets pet-themed gifts, fit wrap, shopping bags and more, received the 2004 Distributor of the Year Award from the Retail Packaging Association (Covington, Ky.) for its exemplary employment and customer service practices. [June 2005 PET AGE]

NutraCea (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), a leader in health care products based on stabilized rice bran, and The RiceX Co. (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), a leading manufacturer of stabilized rice bran, in April announced plans to merge. Under terms of the agreement, a newly formed subsidiary of NutraCea will merge into RiceX, and RiceX will become a wholly owned subsidiary of NutraCea. [June 2005 PET AGE]

OurPet’s Co. (Fairport Harbor, Ohio) reported net sales of $1.35 million for the 2004 fourth quarter, down 2 percent from net sales of $1.38 million for the year-earlier period. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Penn-Plax Inc. (Garden City, N.Y.) recently opened a 100,000-square-foot distribution center near Memphis International Airport. Along with distribution centers in Garden City, N.Y., and Santa Fe Springs, Calif., the $2.5 million Tennessee facility allows the company to ship products throughout the country in two days. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Pet Supermarket (Sunrise, Fla.) expanded its presence in the Southeast with the opening of two stores: one in Raleigh, N.C., and one in Roswell, Ga. Each store offers more than 8,000 pet products at competitive prices. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Pet Supplies “Plus” Inc. (Farmington Hills, Mich.) placed donation canisters in 200 stores to raise funds for animals affected by the tsunami that struck southeast Asia last December. At press time, the company had raised more than $7,100 for the Tsunami Animal Relief Fund established by Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (Kanab, Utah). [June 2005 PET AGE]

Pet Valu Inc. (Markham, Ontario) reported sales and revenue from Canadian operations of $27.2 million for the 2004 fourth quarter, up 3 percent from $26.3 million for the year-earlier period. Sales and revenue from U.S. operations were $8.7 million, down 6 percent from $9.3 million for the year-earlier period. Comparable store sales for the quarter increased by 0.3 percent in Canada and 2.1 percent in the United States. [June 2005 PET AGE]

PetCare Television Network Inc. (Tampa, Fla.) received $250,000 in private funding through the issuance of convertible debentures to Vicis Capital Master Series Trust, a fund managed by Vicis Capital L.L.C. The money will be used for general corporate purposes, including growth and capital initiatives. [June 2005 PET AGE]

A class-action lawsuit filed in April in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California alleges that Petco Animal Supplies Inc. (San Diego) violated federal securities law by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market that had the effect of artificially inflating. The suit notes that Petco’s stock prices fell 15 percent, from $37 per share to $30.36, after the company announced on April 15 that it would delay filing its Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission to correct certain accounting errors. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Petco Animal Supplies Inc. (San Diego) reported unaudited net sales of $492.3 million for the 2004 fourth quarter, up 10.9 percent from $444 million for the year-earlier period. Comparable store sales increased 5.1 percent in the quarter, compared with 5.6 percent in the year-earlier period. At press time, the company had 716 store locations. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Petco Animal Supplies Inc. (San Diego) ranked 68th on Training Magazine’s 2005 “Top 100” list of companies that excel in human capital development. Petco was cited for employee retention, internal promotions, product output, customer service, customer loyalty, revenue and safety and health issues. Training Magazine, a professional development publication, advocates workforce training as a business tool. [June 2005 PET AGE]

More than 14,400 dogs, cats, birds, small animals and reptiles were adopted during National Pet Adoption Days, held April 2-3 by Petco Animal Supplies Inc. (San Diego) and The Petco Foundation (San Gabriel, Calif.). [June 2005 PET AGE]

PetDefender, which provides pet insurance policies, established its new headquarters at 1301 Main St. in downtown Dallas. [June 2005 PET AGE]

PetTrax (Los Angeles), maker of its namesake wireless pet identification system, now operates in 15 cities throughout the United States. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Planet Dog (Portland, Maine) broadened its national philanthropic efforts to include Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, recognized worldwide for diagnosing and treating prostate cancer. Through sales of its new Blue Ribbon Ringo and Blue Ribbon Buddy dog toys, the company hopes to raise $100,000 for the center. [June 2005 PET AGE]

At press time, Planet Dog (Portland, Maine) had raised more than $10,000 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation through sales of its Pink Ribbon Ringo dog toy, launched in April 2004. The company recently introduced the Pink Ribbon Buddy dog toy to help it reach its goal of raising $100,000 for the foundation. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Rocky’s Best Dog Treats (Syracuse, N.Y.) is donating 25 percent of sales from its online store (www.timefortreat.com) to Community Animal Project (Rochester, N.Y.), a welfare organization that seeks to reduce animal suffering and keep animals safe. [June 2005 PET AGE]

S&M NuTec L.L.C. (North Kansas City, Mo.) in March launched a Greenies Treat-for-All at www.treatforall.com. Greenies users who recommend the dental treats to non-users will receive Greenies coupons and free Greenies based on the number of referrals they make. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Spot My Dog (San Francisco) donated $2,500 worth of its reflective collars and leashes to the Dogue de Bordeaux Society, the East Berkeley Humane Society (California) and the Kennebec Valley Humane Society (Maine). [June 2005 PET AGE]

Street Treats (New York) had set up 1,600 gumball-style dog biscuit machines outside businesses across New York at press time, and planned to set up at least 50 more machines this year. The machines vend dried liver dog biscuits for 25 cents each. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Stylette (Oakdale, Pa.) was one of 39 companies to receive Design Defined Awards from the International Housewares Association (Chicago) in March. Its Litter Round-up was cited for exemplifying a commitment to quality design and for solving a common household cleaning and storage issue. [June 2005 PET AGE]

The Safety Turtle, a drowning prevention system for pets from Terrapin Communications (Ottawa, Ontario), now is available in all PetsMart stores throughout the United States and Canada. [June 2005 PET AGE]

Wesco Pet Inc. (Carlsbad, Calif.) said it was successful in its legal efforts to require Island Cage Co., Sierra Avian Distributors and Feathered Fantasy of Chicago Park, Calif., to cease and desist from making and selling a copy of its popular Bird Kabob toy, contending that the copy infringed on its trademark and trade dress. [June 2005 PET AGE]