A Pet’s World (Manchester Center, Vt.) is the executive sales and marketing agent for The Pet Plan and Pet Trust Guide by Kimberly A. Colgate. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Ader Enterprises Inc. (San Diego) hired Matrix Partners (Chicago) to handle its public relations and marketing. [August 2009 PET AGE]

The 37th annual All American Grooming Show, set for Aug. 13-16 at the smoke-free Westin Chicago North Shore in Wheeling, Ill., will host two new contests: the creative Abstract Design Runway and the All American Hat competitions. Mobile vans will be available for contestants who need to bathe dogs, and a designated room in the hotel will be available for drying dogs. Registration forms are available at www.aagrmgshow.com. For more information, call 847-364-4547. [August 2009 PET AGE]

The American Humane Association (Washington) created “American Humane KIDS: Kids Interacting with Dogs Safely,” a dog-bite prevention program for children 7 and younger. Curriculum materials can be purchased at www.americanhumane.org/store. [August 2009 PET AGE]

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (New York) partnered with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Bentonville, Ark.) to launch a line of pet care products. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Marc Gosnell joined H.H. Backer Associates Inc. (Chicago) as an exhibit sales manager. Gosnell has nearly five years’ trade show sales experience, most recently as an account executive for Pico Event Marketing. Prior to that, he was a global salesperson for A.C.T./Expocad. In addition, he is working toward a certificate in exhibition management. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Bare Bones sweet potato dog treats by Big Bark Bakery (Dallas) was one of 111 silver finalists in the pet products category in the Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation Awards sponsored by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade Inc. Bare Bones treats also are now available at Target stores nationwide. [August 2009 PET AGE]

U.S. Customs and Border Protection ruled that all products from Lucky Litter L.L.C., a division of Brilliant Pet (Chicago), and redesigned SmartScoop products by OurPet’s Co. (Fairport Harbor, Ohio) can freely enter the United States, ending a limited exclusion order related to ongoing patent cases. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Canidae All Natural Pet Foods (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) held a bike raffle in June in Philadelphia to benefit the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation’s canine cancer research fund. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Central Garden & Pet (Walnut Creek, Calif.) reported net sales of $476 million for the second quarter of 2009, down 2 percent from the year-earlier period, and a net income of $33 million versus $20.4 million in the year-earlier period. Net sales for the pet products segment were $229 million in the quarter, down 1 percent from the year-earlier period. Sales of branded pet products were $190 million, down $3 million from the previous year. Sales of other manufacturers’ products were unchanged at $38 million. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Charming Pet Products (Westlake Village, Calif.) awarded $500 to Jodi Dixon of Bosco’s Biscuits (Carefree, Ariz.) for suggesting “Buddy Hogley” as the name of its new pig-design toy. The company collected entries during SuperZoo and H.H. Backer’s Pet Industry Christmas Trade Show last fall. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Charming Pet Products (Westlake Village, Calif.) relaunched its Web site, www.charmingpetproducts.com, in a project headed by Dana Herkelrath, a former executive for The Walt Disney Co. (Burbank, Calif.). [August 2009 PET AGE]

Charming Pet Products (Westlake Village, Calif.) donated products for the Tiger Jam XII event benefiting The Tiger Woods Foundation (Irvine, Calif.), held in May in Las Vegas. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Dog News Daily (Los Angeles) launched an employment assistance program on its Web site to help unemployed dog owners find industry-related jobs. Job hunters can post resumes and respond to pet industry job openings via the Help Find a Dog Owner a Job section of the site. For information, visit www.dognewsdaily.com. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Natalie Barr joined Dogswell (Los Angeles) as director of marketing. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Gibson, the world’s tallest dog according to the Guinness Book of Records as well as spokesdog for ForeverLawn Inc. (Albuquerque, N.M.), recently had his front right leg amputated due to complications from cancer. ForeverLawn set up a donation fund to help pay for Gibson’s medical expenses. For information, visit www.k9grass.com/gibson. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Free Range Dog Chews (Romeo, Mich.) engaged an independent third-party lab to test all its products. Cornerstone Laboratories L.L.C. (Memphis, Tenn.) will conduct microbiological analyses on current inventory and all products going forward. The tests check for 40 types of bacteria, chemicals, contaminants, pesticides and toxins, including E. coli and salmonella, and heavy metals. Consumers can go to www.freerangedogchews.com, click on the product they purchased and look up the lot number listed on the label to get a complete product analysis. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Free Range Dog Chews (Romeo, Mich.) updated its logo and packaging. The corporate logo now includes the words “The Original.” Display boxes now include the tagline “Nature Doesn’t Need Any Help.” [August 2009 PET AGE]

GroomTeam USA will send a five-person team to the fourth World Team Championships, to be held Sept. 19-20 in conjunction with German Grooming Masters 2009 at the Sport Center ASV in Dachau, Germany. The team competition, presented by the European Grooming Association, allows team members to compete in four classes: purebred scissoring, spaniel and setter, hand stripping and poodle. Judges include  Paola  Acco (Italy), Kitty Dekeersgieter (Belgium), Christina Pawlosky (United States), Eve Raison (France), Colin Taylor (Great Britain) and Enric Vilavedra (Spain). Italy’s Umberto Lehmann will be jury president. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Invention Home, a division of Jacob Enterprises Inc. (Pittsburgh), inked a licensing deal with Good Pet Stuff Co. (Rio Linda, Calif.) to market the Anchor Bowl. [August 2009 PET AGE]

The Hartz Mountain Corp. (Secaucus, N.J.) will donate a portion of its 2009 sales at military base commerce stores to the Wounded Warrior Project. For information, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Hugx (Derry, Ireland) signed Fuzz-Butt Marketing (Coachella, Calif.) as its exclusive U.S. distributor. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health (Kenilworth, N.J.) donated $1 for each pet enrolled in its HomeAgain Pet Recovery Service microchipping program during the American Humane Association’s Be Kind to Animals Week, May 3-9. The money raised was channeled to shelters through www.bringpetshome.com. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Jack’s Aquarium and Pets (Beavercreek, Ohio) hired Rick Billups as vice president of merchandising and marketing. Billups will work with the chain’s 27 full-line stores and its PetSolutions catalogs. [August 2009 PET AGE]

All Web sites related to Kenic Pet Products (Lawrenceburg, Ky.) now redirect users to the company’s umbrella page, www.glo-marr-kenic.com. Web sites to be redirected are www.glomarr.com, www.balancenaturalpet.com, www.balancepropet.com, www.barktiniblends.com, www.barktinipet.com, www.dermaken.com, www.derma-ken.com, www.flea-rid.com, www.glomarrkenic.com, www.glo-marr-kenic.com, www.glomarrpet.com, www.kenicpet.com, www.kenllan.com, www.kenllan128.com, www.kittylac.com, www.oxy-sol.com and www.unisourceprivatelabel.com. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Rene Hollis of Kennelwood Pet Resorts (St. Louis) voluntarily bathed and groomed eight purebred Labradors to prepare them for training with Support Dogs Inc., a St. Louis-based nonprofit that provides service dogs to people with disabilities. [August 2009 PET AGE]

LegalizeFerrets.org, a California nonprofit organization, is asking owners of the critters to send in their Petco receipts in a bid to legalize Musteo putorius furo. The organization wants to show how much money ferret owners spend in Petco stores to bolster a request it is making of Petco Animal Supplies Inc. (San Diego) to help fund an environmental impact report. The California Department of Fish and Game is requiring the study before it will consider legalizing ferrets. [August 2009 PET AGE]

MAINE—Pet Food Tax. A proposal to increase the sales tax on pet food from 5 percent to 6 percent was voted down in the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry even though legislators initially approved the increase. The failed tax hike—tacked onto LD 964, a breeder kennel law—would have helped fund the state’s animal welfare program. [August 2009 PET AGE]

MASSACHUSETTS—Groomer Licensing. A proposal to regulate pet groomers remained in the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure at press time. Senate Bill 186 would create a five-member Board of Registration of Pet Groomers, which would be responsible for issuing licenses, setting standards and prescribing rules. Similar legislation failed in 2007. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Pawsible Marketing, an arm of May Marketing Inc. (Carmel, Ind.), now offers a marketing coaching service package geared toward small and medium-sized pet businesses. [August 2009 PET AGE]

The fourth annual Presents 4 Pets collection drive to help local shelters and rescue groups, sponsored by the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (Mount Laurel, N.J.), runs through Nov. 7. The last week of the drive coincides with National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States (Washington). For information, visit www.petsitters.org. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Wheatley & Timmons (Chicago) won a Gold Trumpet Award from the Publicity Club of Chicago and a direct marketing Silver Telly Award (New York) for its promotion of the rotation diet by Nature’s Variety (Lincoln, Neb.). [August 2009 PET AGE]

Nestlé Purina PetCare (St. Louis) installed a 467-panel, 21,000-square-foot solar power system at its plant in Denver. The system will provide about 1 percent of the plant’s electricity needs. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. (St. Louis) partnered with AOL L.L.C. (New York) to launch the pet-centric PawNation.com. The site features celebrity pet news as well as user polls. In a recent poll, 49 percent of respondents said they think pet weddings are absurd; nearly half (48 percent) said pets sleep in the owners’ beds; and 44 percent said they spend less than $50 a month on their pets. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Nestlé Purina PetCare (St. Louis) partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure (Dallas) to raise money for breast cancer research. The fundraising effort—projected to total more than $200,000 for 2009—includes limited-edition pink packaging of some Purina Cat Chow products, which will appear in on store shelves in October. For details, see “Health” in August 2009 PET AGE. [August 2009 PET AGE]

The third annual Purina Pro Plan Rally Across America Tour, sponsored by Nestle Purina PetCare Co. (St. Louis), made a stop in Irvine, Calif., in June to raise money for Orange County pet rescue organizations. The group is trying to meet its five-year goal of adopting out 300,000 pets by year’s end. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Kevin Butscher joined North American Pet Products (Corona, Calif.) as vice president of sales for the food, drug and mass retail trades.
In addition, NAPP named Jeremy Moser to oversee all marketing and product development projects. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Charie Jankowski is project coordinator for the new marketing department at Nutri-Vet (Boise, Idaho). [August 2009 PET AGE]

OREGON—Exotic Animals. A bill that requires a permit to possess certain exotic animals awaited the signature of Gov. Ted Kulongoski at press time. Senate Bill 391 also restricts sales of primates, bears and other named species to wildlife rehabilitation centers and U.S. Department of Agriculture-licensed facilities. In addition, it bans the breeding of such exotic animals, except for “small exotic felines.” [August 2009 PET AGE]

Oscar Newman (Geneva, Ill.) is one of the luxury brands featured in the first pet ready-to-wear pet designer showroom—Black Label Pet Designers in Dallas’s World Trade Center. The showroom is owned by Heather Poole. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Oxbow Animal Health (Murdock, Neb.) awarded 2009 Academic Scholarships to: Erin Monaco, Texas A&M University, College of Veterinary Medicine (veterinary medicine academic scholarship); Mark Andrew Nipper, Athens Technical College (veterinary technology academic scholarship); Julie Dorney, Cedar Valley College (veterinary technology academic scholarship); Irina Gruzinova, University of Arizona (undergraduate academic scholarship); and Whitney Burger, Columbus High School (Nebraska high school scholarship). [August 2009 PET AGE]

P&G Petcare is moving its North American Pet Care operations from Dayton, Ohio, to Mason, Ohio. The operations will become part of Procter & Gamble’s Mason Business Center, where the company’s oral care, personal health and pharmaceuticals businesses are based. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Paws Aboard (Tampa, Fla.) added several distributors: Burgham Sales (Scarborough, Ontario), digPets (Largo, Fla.), Essex Top Crop (Essex, Ontario), H&H Distributing (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Hunter K9 Gear (Thorndale, Pa.), LoneStar Pet Supply (Schertz, Texas), Pet Professionals Choice Inc. (Longwood, Fla.), Super Dog Pet Food Co. (Leola, Pa.) and UTM Distributing (Cincinnati). [August 2009 PET AGE]

Paws Aboard (Tampa, Fla.) won a 2008 Reviewers’ Choice Award for best doggy life jacket from www.buzzillions.com. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Pet Sitters International (King, N.C.) held its 10th annual Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 26. In conjunction with the annual event, Esser Vineyards (Napa Valley, Calif.) organized “Take Your Dog to Dinner Night” at restaurants across the country. Esser donated wines and Weruva, a pet food manufacturer based in Natick, Mass., donated human-style pet food dinners.
Take Your Dog To Work Day was first held in 1999 to celebrate the companionship offered by dogs, and to encourage their adoption from humane societies, animal shelters and breed rescue clubs. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Pet Supermarket (Sunrise, Fla.) worked with rescue groups to find homes for 1,974 cats in the past year, with more than 800 of the adoptions originating in the chain’s Broward County, Fla. stores.
The chain held its first Dog Fest at the Park in June at Oakland Bark in Oakland Park, Fla. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Pet Valu Inc. (Markham, Ontario) reported net income of $2.7 million for the 2009 first quarter, down 3.6 percent from the year-earlier period. [August 2009 PET AGE]

The PetCo. Foundation (San Diego) celebrated its 10-year anniversary in May with a gala event in Coronado, Calif. [August 2009 PET AGE]

PetEdge Inc. (Beverly, Mass.) hired Fry Inc., a subsidiary of Micros Systems Inc. (Columbia, Md.), to upgrade its Web sites with more interactive Web 2.0 features such as “drag and drop” options, site previews and cross-sell and up-sell capabilities based on frequently purchased products. Upgrades to www.petedge.com and www.petedgedealerservices.com are expected to be done this summer. [August 2009 PET AGE]

PetRelocation.com, based in Austin, Texas, was named 14th Best Small Business to Work for by the Austin Business Journal. Employees get weekly one-on-one meetings with the CEO, don’t have to follow a dress code and can bring their pets to work, making use of a fenced-in, climate-controlled “doggy office.” The company also pays full health, vision and dental insurance and offers flex time and telecommuting options. [August 2009 PET AGE]

PetSmart Charities (Phoenix) will host “Feline Forum: Practices and New Perspectives,” Sept. 24-26 at the Marriott Chicago O’Hare. For information or to register, visit www.petsmartcharities.org/felineforum. [August 2009 PET AGE]

PetSmart Inc. (Phoenix) reported net income of $46.3 million for the first quarter of 2009, an increase of more than 1 percent from the year-earlier period. Net sales were $1.33 billion in the quarter, up 9.5 percent from the year-earlier period. Comparable store sales increased 3.9 percent. Pet services sales were $142.8 million, up 10.3 percent from the year-earlier period. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Visitors to PetzMD.com (Austin, Texas) now can “find-a-vet” by typing in a location or ZIP code on the informational pet health site. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Piglet’s Pantry Inc. (Mount Dora, Fla.) is promoting sales by giving customers who spend at least $50 in the store or on the Web site by Dec. 30, 2009, a chance to win a seven-day cruise. For information, visit www.pigletspantry.com. [August 2009 PET AGE]

The Maine Adoption Leaders Team, whose members include Portland-based Planet Dog and Happy Tails, helped create a specialty state license plate to highlight animal welfare. The “Act to Create the Support Animal Welfare Registration Plate” was signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci in May. License plate proceeds will be divided evenly between animal cruelty and abuse investigations and “Help Fix ME,” the state’s spay and neuter program for pets of low-income citizens. [August 2009 PET AGE]

The Planet Dog Foundation, the nonprofit arm of Planet Dog (Portland, Maine), awarded grants ranging from $3,000 to $7,000 to: Assistance Dogs of the West (Santa Fe, N.M.), Gabriel’s Angels (Mesa, Ariz.), Hearing and Service Dogs of Minnesota (Minneapolis), NEADS (West Boylston, Mass.), Susquehanna Service Dogs (Harrisburg, Pa.), Teacher’s Pet (Rochester Hills, Mich.), and Working Dogs for Conservation (Three Forks, Mont.). [August 2009 PET AGE]

Puppy Piñata L.L.C. (Naples, Fla.) donated more than 1,000 of its products to 23 shelters across the country during the Cinco de Mayo Puppy Piñata Celebration. Photos and stories will be posted on www.puppypinata.com. [August 2009 PET AGE]

RaiseAGreenDog.com (Carmel, Ind.) now features a green product portal showcasing eco-friendly, recycled and sustainable dog products, plus information to help dog lovers learn to live a greener lifestyle. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Charlotte Reed, industry trend watcher and author of The Miss Fido Manners Complete Book of Etiquette, now posts a weekly newsletter at www.charlottereed.com/newsletter.html. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Rocco and Jezebel Inc. (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in May opened a brick-and-mortar store to augment its online business, www.roccoandjezebel.com. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Royal Canin USA (St. Charles, Mo.) was named the official sponsor of The International Cat Association (Harlingen, Texas). The association will host its annual cat show Sept. 5-6 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Save-A-Pet Animal Rescue and Adoption Center (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) opened a pet retail store called Castaways to spread the message of pet adoption and to raise money for the no-kill shelter. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) now allows small cats and dogs in the aircraft cabin for a $75 pet fare. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Super-Dog Pet Food Co. (Leola, Pa.) signed a New England area distribution deal with WellPet L.L.C. (Tewksbury, Mass.). [August 2009 PET AGE]

Susan Lanci of Susan Lanci Designs (Carlsbad, Calif.) was a special guest at Chateau De Puppy’s annual customer appreciation event in Palm Beach Island, Fla. Lanci autographed harnesses, helped with fittings, discussed design and shared some tricks for applying hair bows with more than 150 people at the pet-friendly event. [August 2009 PET AGE]

Totally Organics (Portland, Ore.) launched an educational parrot nutrition blog, www.TOPSChatter.com, written by company owner and What Happened to My Peanuts? author Gudrun Maybaum. [August 2009 PET AGE]

More than 20 employees from Up Country Inc. (East Providence, R.I.) spent four hours collecting litter on Earth Day. They gathered 20 bags of roadside garbage and five containers of recyclables from the Boyd Avenue area, where the store is located. [August 2009 PET AGE]

WISCONSIN—Dog Sales. Two bills introduced to regulate dog sales that would set forth licensing requirements and standards of care awaited committee hearings at press time. Assembly Bill 250 and Senate Bill 208 would require licensing of persons who sell 25 or more dogs in a year, persons who operate a dog breeding facility that sells 25 or more dogs a year and persons who operate an auction at which 50 ore more dogs are sold or offered for sale in a year. The bills also would regulate animal shelters. [August 2009 PET AGE]

The World Wide Pet Industry Association Inc. (Monrovia, Calif.) and North American Pet Products (Corona, Calif.) will sponsor the Pet Store Super Makeover contest at SuperZoo, Sept. 15-17 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The winning retailer will receive $40,000 in professional store animal caging. For rules and information, visit www.superzoo.org or www.northamericanpet.com. [August 2009 PET AGE]