All Is Well, a holistic pet store in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., teamed up with Old Mother Hubbard (Tewksbury, Mass.) to give free food for three months, nutritional counseling and qualified holistic exams to a pets with severe itch-related problems in order to show how natural, grain-free diets can improve skin and coat condition. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Andis Co. (Sturtevant, Wis.) promoted Gary Stanczyk to vice president of sales. Stanczyk joined the company in 1999. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Ark Naturals Products for Pets (Naples, Fla.) signed five new distributors: American Pet Products Co. (Las Vegas); Bark to Basics (Lenexa, Kan.); C+K Distributors (Glendale, N.Y.); Nanhall Manufacturing (Mobile, Ala.); and Nelson Wholesale Service (Brownwood, Texas). [February 2009 PET AGE]

Ark Naturals Products for Pets (Naples, Fla.) donated more than $6,000 worth of product to Humane Society Naples, a no-kill shelter in Collier County, for its annual afternoon tea and fashion show. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Online registration forms and a downloadable show catalog for the Atlanta Pet Fair (Tucker, Ga.) are available at www.atlantapetfair.com. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Camp Bow Wow (Boulder, Colo.) ranked No. 26 on Entrepreneur magazine’s list of 50 fastest-growing women-owned/led businesses in North America. The company recently launched Home Buddies, a franchise targeting the in-home pet care market. For information, visit www.campbowwow.com. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Central Garden & Pet (Walnut Creek, Calif.) reported net sales of $414 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, up 3 percent from the year-earlier period, and a net loss of $13.9 million versus a net loss of $1.7 million in the year-earlier period. Net sales for the pet products segment were $226 million in the quarter, up 2 percent from the year-earlier period. Sales of branded pet products declined 1 percent to $186 million. Sales of other manufacturers’ products increased 8 percent to $40 million. [February 2009 PET AGE]

CustomSeaLife Inc. (Vista, Calif.) has ceased all business operations; the corporation is being dissolved. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Dog-Wa (Las Vegas) hired Dr. Jane Leon as its spokesperson. An author as well as television and radio personality, Leon also will write a monthly column for the Dog-Wa Web site. [February 2009 PET AGE]

The trade journal PET in Europe named Fressnapf (Krefeld, Germany) Retailer of the Year at the International Pet Conference, held in November in Amsterdam. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Healthy Pets Inc., an online pet supply store based in Union City, Calif., will donate 50 percent of the proceeds from sales of IronDog triple-strength joint supplements to the Search Dog Foundation (Ojai, Calif.) as part of its “You Buy, We Save Lives” program. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Hey Buddy L.L.C., a pet supply vending machine company based in Dallas, expanded to offer franchise opportunities in Canada. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Bird lovers can see macaws in their natural habitat on the 2009 Kaytee Avian Foundation Eco-tour. Participants will travel to Piaui, Brazil, tour the Hyacinth Cliffs and explore the Parnaiba National Park—a 10,000-acre reserve that the Chilton, Wis.-based foundation helped purchase. For details on the June 13-20 tour, call Tropical Nature Travel at 877-888-1770. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Mars Petcare (McLean, Va.) announced plans to close plants in Birmingham, Ala.; Muscatine, Iowa; Butler, Mo.; Dexter, Mo.; and McKenzie, Tenn. The company also extended the voluntary recall of dry cat and dog food products manufactured in its Allentown, Pa., facility. For information on recalled pet food, visit www.petcare.mars.com. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Matrix Partners (Chicago) hired John Zappia as vice president of business development. He previously worked in advertising and public relations at Bowtie Publications (Los Angeles).  [February 2009 PET AGE]

MetaMorphix Inc. (Davis, Calif.) expanded sales of its Canine Heritage Breed Test to all Petco stores in the United States. The product has been available in limited markets since July. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Moochie & Co. Inc. (Worthington, Ohio) received a venture grant from the City of Worthington to help the company expand its corporate headquarters and distribution center.  [February 2009 PET AGE]

Morris Animal Inn, a pet resort and spa in Morristown, N.J., recently completed a multi-million dollar renovation and expansion project. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Nano Pet Products L.L.C. (Wilton, Conn.) signed a deal to sell its Dog Gone Smart products through Pets at Home (Handforth, Cheshire), the United Kingdom’s largest pet supply retail chain.  [February 2009 PET AGE]

The National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) launched a national pet-sitting certification program covering pet care, health, nutrition, behavior and first aid as well as business management, marketing and operations. For information, visit www.petsitters.org. [February 2009 PET AGE]

The National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) elected Monica Leighton, owner of Professional Pet Sitting (Venice, Fla.), president.  John F. D’Ariano, owner of A Pet Sitter Plus (Boynton Beach, Fla.), is president-elect; Vickie Reason of Happy Tails Pet Services (Tucson, Ariz.), secretary; and Susan Reid of Reid’s Pet Sitting (Merced, Calif.), treasurer. [February 2009 PET AGE]

As the winner of an online video contest sponsored by Natural Balance Pet Foods (Pacoima, Calif.), a 9-month-old Maltese puppy named Scooter and his owner got to ride on the Natural Balance float in the Tournament of Roses’ 120th Rose Parade. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Nestle Purina PetCare Co. (St. Louis) will open a multimillion-dollar indoor event center in Gray Summit, Mo., in 2010. The 84,000-square-foot facility, designed specifically to host dog shows, will feature padded flooring, spacious benching and dog bathing areas, meeting rooms, RV parking, vendor and exhibit space and food service and banquet catering. For details, visit www.purina.com/purina-farms/. [February 2009 PET AGE]

A Shar-Pei named Sunshine won the grand prize in the Pro Plan Rally to Rescue story contest sponsored by Nestle Purina PetCare Co. (St. Louis).  [February 2009 PET AGE]

New Mexico—Dog and Cat Sales. The Bernalillo County Board of County Commissioners, based in Albuquerque, in December approved amendments to the county’s animal control ordinance to ban the sale of cats and dogs in pet shops unless the store has a hobby breeders’ permit. The ordinance applies to unincorporated areas of the county. [February 2009 PET AGE]

North Saanich, British Columbia—Mandatory Spay/Neuter of Cats. Legislators in November voted to approve an amendment to the district’s animal control bylaw that requires owners of domestic cats to neuter their pets. The law applies only to non-purebred cats. [February 2009 PET AGE]

ONTARIO—Animal Cruelty. A bill that would give the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals authority to inspect pet stores passed its third reading in November. The legislation also would levy penalties, including jail time, fines and lifetime ownership bans, on those who abuse animals, and require veterinarians to report suspected abuse and neglect while protecting them from liability for doing so. [February 2009 PET AGE]

The Pet Food Institute (Washington) received the Silver Anvil Award of Excellence for Crisis Communications in Business from the Public Relations Society of America (New York) for its work during the 2007 pet food recall. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Petco Animal Supplies Stores Inc. (San Diego), working with animal-welfare and rescue groups, is phasing out rabbit sales in favor of adoption. Its goal is to offer neutered rabbits by adoption only by early 2009. [February 2009 PET AGE]

PetSmart Inc. (Phoenix) reported net sales of $1.3 billion in the third quarter of 2008, up 12 percent from the year-earlier period. Comparable store sales grew 5.4 percent. Net income was $35.8 million, up 21 percent from the year-earlier period.
In light of the economic slowdown, however, the chain will “pull back even further on … capital spending in 2009 and focus on consistent execution and on outperforming in those areas of the business that differentiate PetSmart from the competition,” said Phil Francis, chairman and chief executive officer. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Radagast Pet Food Inc. (Portland, Ore.) signed Animal Supply Co. (Federal Way, Wash.), Paws For Health INC. (Sarasota, Fla.) and Supreme Pet Supply (Houston) as distributors. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Radio Systems Corp. (Knoxville, Tenn.), bought the assets of MultiVet International (Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec), along with the manufacturing rights to its anti-bark spray collars, virtual spray barrier systems and a motion-activated cat repellant. The corporation also purchased the ScatMat product line from Contech Inc. (Victoria, British Columbia). [February 2009 PET AGE]

Super-Dog Pet Food Co. (Leola, Pa.) named Robert Pickett Jr. senior vice president for New England. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Sarah Deters joined Three Dog Bakery (Kansas City, Mo.) as corporate executive chef. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Treats Unleashed (Chesterfield, Mo.) opened its fourth “Gourmutt” bakery and health food store. The new store is in Des Peres, Mo. [February 2009 PET AGE]

The United Showmanagers Alliance (Tucker, Ga.) sanctioned Tracy Duncan and Anna Hawks as judges and also approved the addition of “All Other Purebreds” to their contest structure. The group also launched its Web site, www.unitedshowmanagersalliance.com. [February 2009 PET AGE]

United States—Animal Welfare Act. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service extended the comment period to Feb. 20, 2009, on proposed regulations to require licensees and registrants to develop a contingency plan for natural disasters. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Up Country Inc. (East Providence, R.I.), which manufactures hand-sewn ribbon collars and harnesses as well as treats and accessories for dogs and cats, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Veterinary Ventures Inc. (Reno, Nev.) hired Carey Kanavel as global sales coordinator. [February 2009 PET AGE]

Waggin’ Tailz, a Houston-based pet-sitting service, sold its third franchise and is setting up shop in Weare, N.H. [February 2009 PET AGE]