The 36th All American Grooming Show, taking place Aug. 14-17 at the Westin Chicago North Shore in Wheeling, Ill., will feature a Creative Styling Challenge with a special prize for a first-time competitor, a Creative Fun Match for any registered attendee, and a variety of seminars, including a cat grooming demonstrations. For more information, visit www.aagrmgshow.com. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Allennia and Jean Voerster opened Aristocats—Feline Suites Hotel & Spa, an all-suites boarding and grooming facility exclusively for cats in Oklahoma City. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Aspen Pet Products (Denver) donated treats, leashes and toys with a retail value of more than $100,000 to the Furry Scurry run/walk fund-raiser benefiting the Denver Dumb Friends League, a shelter that takes in more than 28,000 animals each year. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Bark Busters (Englewood, Colo.) is helping train service dogs brought home by U.S. soldiers from the Middle East war zone as part of Operation Baghdad Pups, a program of SPCA International (Washington). [July 2008 PET AGE]

Groomer to Groomer magazine, published by Barkleigh Productions Inc. (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), now is available online at www.groomertogroomer.com. The online version of the magazine offers additional content and links to advertisers’ Web sites. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Lauren Snyder of PetSmart in Olympia, Wash., won Best in Show and Best First Timer in the Super Model Dog Competition at the Pacific Northwest Grooming Show, held in March in Tacoma, Wash., by Barkleigh Productions Inc. (Mechanicsburg, Pa.). She received a total of $1,250 from sponsor PetEdge (Beverly, Mass.).
Snyder also won the “pup-ouri” class, receiving $400 from sponsor Andis Co. (Racine, Wis.).
Linda Sonn won the competition’s poodle class, receiving $400 from sponsor Nature’s Specialties Manufacturing (Corona, Calif.).
For information about next year’s show, call (717) 691-3388 or visit wwww.barkleigh.com. [July 2008 PET AGE]

CALIFORNIA—Restricted Species. The California Fish & Game Commission added several new species and genera to the state’s list of animals that are unlawful to import, transport or possess without a permit: large-scale silver carp, black carp, barramundi, non-native abalone, water snake, coqui frog, channeled apple snail and mute swan. The new restrictions went into effect April 12. [July 2008 PET AGE]

CALIFORNIA—Protection for Animal Enterprises. Assembly Bill 2296 would amend the existing Animal Enterprise Protection Act to offer protection and legal remedies to certain “animal enterprises” as well as their employees, family members and persons who have connections to that enterprise. The bill defines “animal enterprises” as “an entity that lawfully uses animals or animal products for education or research in any exercise of a constitutional right that relates to academic freedom”—which would effectively exclude pet stores and breeders. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Central Garden & Pet Co. (Walnut Creek, Calif.) reported net sales of $485 million for the 2008 second quarter, compared with $486 million for the year-earlier period. Net sales for the pet products segment were $231 million versus $230 million for the year-earlier period. [July 2008 PET AGE]

CityDog Market, specializing in natural and organic pet products, opened recently in Atlanta. The market is co-owned by Renee Palmer and Patsy McGirl. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Classy Custom (Los Angeles) launched an online store offering doors, door frames and accent rugs for pets at www.classycustom.com. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Guests checking in with dogs at The Tower Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., now receive cookie-scented dog spa products by Cookie Moon L.L.C. (Los Angeles). [July 2008 PET AGE]

Critters-A-Foot and Piglet’s Pantry, pet retailers in Mount Dora, Fla., are giving a 2 percent discount to customers who don’t take a shopping bag, or a 5 percent discount to customers who purchase a reusable tote bag during a “Let’s Go Green” summer campaign. Consumers who purchase tote bags will get a 5 percent discount each time they use it at the stores. [July 2008 PET AGE]

D&D Commodities Ltd. (Stephen, Minn.) named J.B. Booth Inc. (Lorton, Va.) 2007 Multi-store Retailer of the Year for building awareness and loyalty for the L’Avian Plus, Wild Delight and 3D brands. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Doskocil Manufacturing Inc. (Arlington, Texas), parent company of Petmate Pet Products, named Larry E. Rembold chief executive officer of the company. He replaced Gary S. Baughman, who retired from the position after six years. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Co. (Wheeling, Ill.) is accepting online entries for its 2009 pet calendar contest through July 31. Winning entrants will receive two cases of canned food, or one case of food and one 16.5-pound bag of dry food. For details, visit www.evangersdogfood.com. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Fetchdog.com (Portland, Maine), an online store owned by actress Glenn Close and her husband, David Shaw, launched in May to offer products, advice, blogs and forums for dog lovers. The e-tailer donates a portion of every purchase to dog rescue. [July 2008 PET AGE]

John Blackadar, owner of Fin, Fur & Feather Pet Shops (Hanover, Mass.), was elected to the board of governors of the New Bedford Oceanarium to help oversee the creation of the Ocean Explorium at New Bedford Seaport. The Ocean Explorium is supposed to allow exploration through a number of hands-on learning opportunities. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Florida—Spay/Neuter Requirements for Pet Stores. Effective April 1, pet stores in Palm Beach County must spay or neuter all dogs and cats in their possession that are 6 months of age or older unless the animal meets a specified exemption. The ordinance encompasses pet stores by defining “person” as “any natural person, society, firm, corporation, partnership, association, humane society, public or private nonprofit organization, other legal entity, public or private institution, municipal corporation, unit of local government or other business unit and every officer, agent or employee of such business unit.” [July 2008 PET AGE]

Groomers Helper (Margate, N.J.) recently became the official Stainless Steel Level sponsor of GroomTeam USA (Beaumont, Calif.). [July 2008 PET AGE]

GroomTeam USA (Beaumont, Calif.) awarded $1,000 Lonnie Lange Memorial Scholarships to Allison Dale of Elk Grove Village, Ill., Taylor Nischan of Bolingbrook, Ill., and Katelyn Thornton of Richland Hills, Texas. All children of groomers, they will apply the money toward their college educations.
GroomTeam USA gave an additional Lonnie Lange Memorial Scholarship to Jessica Lynch of Webster, Texas, to fully fund her education at an approved grooming school.
Applications for 2009 scholarships are available at www.groomteamusa.com. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Halo, Purely for Pets (Tampa, Fla.) hired Steve Marton as chief executive officer. A veteran of the premium pet food industry, Marton previously was a senior executive at several Colgate-Palmolive divisions. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. (Topeka, Kan.) launched the 2008 Second Chance for Love program with a pledge to save 1 million cats and dogs through shelter adoptions. For more information, visit www.hillspet.com/secondchance. [July 2008 PET AGE]

International Absorbents Inc. (Ferndale, Wash.) signed Japell USA as distributor of CareFresh small-animal bedding in Japan. [July 2008 PET AGE]

International Absorbents Inc. (Ferndale, Wash.) reported sales of $33.1 million for fiscal year 2008, up 12 percent from $29.5 million for fiscal year 2007. Net income was $2 million, up 188 percent from $701,000. [July 2008 PET AGE]

William D. Engler Sr., founder Kaytee Products Inc. (Chilton, Wis.), died April 20. He was 96.
Upon founding Kaytee in 1964, he focused on wild bird food and food for companion birds and small animals on a regional then national basis. He pioneered the production of wild bird food for sale in mass market and national chain grocery stores, and laid the groundwork for Kaytee to become a national leader in the wild bird, companion bird and small-animal foods markets.
He sold the business to his three children in 1981, and continued as president until 1984. He was a member of Kaytee’s board of directors until the company was sold to Central Garden & Pet Co. (Walnut Creek, Calif.) in 1997. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Kennelwood Pet Resorts (St. Louis) in April temporarily sheltered 30 adoptable dogs from the Humane Society of Missouri, allowing the society’s Macklind, Mo., location to accommodate pets rescued from flood areas. [July 2008 PET AGE]

KENTUCKY—Retailer Warranty. Legislation that sought to impose several new requirements on pet stores that sell dogs died in committee when the session adjourned in April.  House Bill 518 also would have set steep penalties for noncompliance. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Pedigree Food for Dogs, a brand by Mars Petcare U.S. (Franklin, Tenn.), partnered with NASCAR driver Kyle Busch to create Kyle’s Miles, a program aimed at raising $100,000 for The Pedigree Adoption Drive Foundation through online pledges to sponsor Busch in Sprint Cup races. For more information, visit www.dogsrule.com. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Irina Pinkusevich of Hallandale, Fla., won Best in Show at the 20th Atlanta Pet Fair, held in March in Atlanta by McPaw Inc. (Tucker, Ga.). The class was sponsored by Andis Co. (Racine, Wis.).
Lindsey Berry of Altamonte Springs, Fla., was named Best All-Around Stylist. The award was sponsored by Wahl Clipper Corp. (Sterling, Ill.).
Carolee Brancefield of Cleveland, Tenn., was named Best First-Time Competitor. The award was sponsored by Hanvey Specialty Engineering (Sunset, S.C.).
Brenda Gallops of Pine Mountain Valley, Ga., won the Scarlet’s Challenge Competition, sponsored by Stylist Wear (Garland, Texas).
Angela Kumpe of Little Rock, Ark., won the Creative Styling Competition, sponsored by Wag’n Tails Mobile Conversions (Granger, Ind.).
Veronica Frosch of Coon Rapids, Minn., won the Super Model Dog Competition, sponsored by Geib Buttercut Shears (Orlando, Fla.), Mr. Groom (Irmo, S.C.) and Atlanta Pet Fair.
The 21st Atlanta Pet Fair will take place March 5-8, 2009. For more information, call (770) 908-9857 or visit www.atlantapetfair.com. [July 2008 PET AGE]

An offshoot of the homegrown organic grocery chain My Organic Market, Mighty Healthy Pet opened in College Park, Md., in April, offering a variety of holistic, organic and natural products for dogs, cats and small animals. [July 2008 PET AGE]

MINNESOTA—Pet Food. House Bill 4239, to require pet food and specialty pet food distributors to submit the recipes of their pet food with the annual product registration, died when the legislature adjourned without taking up the legislation. [July 2008 PET AGE]

MiracleCorp Products moved its Hamilton Animal Products L.L.C. division from Ocala, Fla., to its headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, to consolidate distribution operations. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Kurgo, a brand of pet travel products by Motivation Design L.L.C. (Salisbury, Mass.), signed Pet Food Experts Inc. (Cumberland, R.I.) as a distributor for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont; Animal Supply Co. (Auburn, Wash.) for northern California, Idaho, Montana, western Nevada, Oregon and Washington; Veterinary Services Inc. (Modesto, Calif.) for Southern California; and Canadian company Truman Distributing for Alberta and parts of British Columbia. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Nano Pet Products L.L.C. (Wilton, Conn.) added Pet Food Express (San Leandro, Calif.) as a retailer and United Pacific Pet (Fontana, Calif.) as a distributor of the Dog Gone Smart Bed and Dog Gone Smart Wear product lines. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Oil-Dri Corp. of America (Chicago) will increase prices for its coarse and clumping cat litters to all classes of trade in August to recover a portion of the margin lost in the past year due to rising fuel and production costs. [July 2008 PET AGE]

OurCherishedPets.com (New York) is a new memorial site where people can post memories, photos, videos and more to honor pets that have died. [July 2008 PET AGE]

OurPet’s Co. (Fairport Harbor, Ohio) reported net revenues of $2.9 million for the 2008 first quarter, up 12.5 percent from $2.6 million for the year-earlier period. According to president and chief executive officer Dr. Steven Tsengas, the increase was due primarily to healthy sales across all the company’s product lines. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Pawsitively Heaven Pet Resort Inc. (Chicago Ridge, Ill.) launched a Web site offering information about its boarding, grooming, day care, veterinary rehabilitation and training services. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Pet Butler (Dallas), a pet waste cleanup and removal service, opened its 100th franchise in April. The company now operates in 27 states. [July 2008 PET AGE]

The Pet Care Services Association (Colorado Springs, Colo.), formerly known as ABKA, upgraded its Web site with targeted content for members and nonmembers, online copies of association publications, and a Pet Service Locator searchable by city, state or ZIP code within a user-selected radius. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Petland Inc. (Chillicothe, Ohio) has adopted out more than 270,000 homeless pets through its Adopt-A-Pet program since 1998. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Stella Sciarrino, who co-founded Petlift Equipment Corp. (Sarasota, Fla.), died on May 9. She was 78.
Recognized by her peers as a pioneer in the grooming industry, Sciarrino, along with her husband, Leonard, introduced the first professional grooming tables and animal bathing tubs to the industry, creating a market where none previously existed.
She is survived by her husband, three daughters and seven grandchildren. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Pet-Togethers (Scottsdale, Ariz.), maker of PetCentRx Vim & Vigor nutritional supplements, gave the first Git Ander Award to Dr. Shawn Messonnier, owner of Paws & Claws Animal Hospital (Plano, Texas), for his commitment to charitable work in the pet industry and outstanding contributions to holistic pet care. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Sincerely, Fido (Akron, Ohio) is a new Web-based greeting card company catering to pet lovers. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Wag’n Tails Mobile Conversions (Granger, Ind.) provided the grand prize—a fully equipped Pet Stylist Elite mobile grooming van worth $75,000—for the winner of “Groomer Has It,” a reality competition show launched in April on the Animal Planet channel. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Wells Fargo Financial National Bank (Des Moines, Iowa) launched the Wells Fargo Health Advantage revolving credit card program, giving consumers flexible payment options for human and pet health care. For more information, visit www.wellsfargohealthadvantage.com. [July 2008 PET AGE]

Zeus & Co. (Chicago) opened the Zeus & Co. South distribution center, making its products available to retailers in Southern Illinois, Indianapolis and St. Louis. [July 2008 PET AGE]         

Zurich Financial Services Group (Schaumburg, Ill.), a property-casualty insurance company, launched a plan that combines liability coverage for directors and officers with employment practices liability coverage and risk management services for boarding kennels, dog day cares and grooming salons. For more information, call Adriana Baez at (215) 979-6641 or e-mail adriana.baez@zurichna.com. [July 2008 PET AGE]