Investors tired of getting whipsawed by the current stock market gyrations may wish to investigate a stable stock such as PetMed Express (NASDAQ: PETS). Americans currently spend in excess of $40 billion a year on their pets. That figure is expected to rise 12% annually for the next few years as pets fill the void in empty-nester baby boomer households. PetMed Express is sitting on $55 million in cash and NO debt.

At just under $12 per share, PetMed is near its 52-week low. The company recently instituted a $20 million stock buyback program. Latest quarterly and YTD numbers look great. Net sales in 3Q increased 19% to $37.3 million. YTD net sales are up 18% to $148 million. 3Q net income is up a huge 60% to $4.4 million. YTD net income increased 40% to $14 million.

65% of all company orders are placed through the company's website, and online sales continue to increase by volume. Reorder sales increased 28%, meaning more and more pet owners are perfectly comfortable ordering their pets' medication via the internet, just as they do their own.

Sometimes, amid uncertain U.S. economic waters, the markets can look like a sea of red ink, with nary a defensive sector in sight. On those occasions, it's prudent to look for niche sectors that mimic defensive sectors, due to unique characters. Pet care in the U.S. is one such sector, and in this category IDEXX Labs is worth an evaluation.

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDXX) provides VetTest analyzers for pet blood/urine chemistry and diagnostic tests to detect heartworm, feline leukemia and other diseases. The company also provides veterinary consulting services and vet practice management software.

Further, lest anyone think that IDXX's business has totally 'gone to the dogs' (and cats), the company also offers tests for contaminants in water and antibiotics in milk, and its OPTI product line features electrolyte and blood gas analyzers.

In an effort to get some kind of public recognition of its Firedog installation and help-desk services, consumer electronics retailer Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC) and Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) have partnered to find the most lovable pooch possible to star in the retailers' Firedog ads.

Firedog was basically a response to competitor Best Buy, Inc.'s (NYSE: BBY) Geek Squad services, which will perform all kinds of computer services in-store or on location at a customer's home.

In proper marketing fashion, Chief Marketing Officer for Circuit City, Peter Weedfald, stated that "We're looking for a dog that represents the personality of Firedog: fun, professional, loyal, quick and intelligent." Loyal, quick and intelligent are good qualities to look for in a canine. But professional?

While Circuit City searches high and low for the pooch in a business suit, Kodak is sharing the stage by pointing out that Americans who love to photograph their pets should consider using its EasyShare all-in-one printers.

Never mind that this dog and pony show says nothing about the quality, costs or types of services Circuit City's Firedog offerings will provide. Something about a smiling dog gets the American public all warm and fuzzy, and presumably more likely to rush out and buy new printers.

You too? Go ahead and bite. We know your dog is the cutest of them all. Visit this website and submit your doggy submissions until December 8, 2007. If your pet has that winning doggy style, Circuit City and Kokak will make a $50,000 donation to a local humane society of your choice.

As a dog lover, I have to say that this is one of the most evil scams I've seen in a long time. According to The Consumerist, the latest advance-fee scam works like this:

You're browsing through an online classified ads site like Craigslist, and see a cute little dog available for adoption. You email the poster who replies that there is no fee and that while he hates to see the dog go, the weather in Africa is no good for him. If you could just pay the shipping fee, he'll be happy to send you the dog -- and so you wire him the shipping fee and, you guessed it, never hear from him again. In some cases, he may string you along with more requests for money but, either way, you ain't gettin' the pooch.

These con-artists should have to share a jail cell with Michael Vick.

[Photo from BurningWell.org]

The Michael Vick dog chew toy is so brilliant in its simplicity that I am kicking myself for not having thought of it myself.

I mean, what better way is there for dogs and their owners to register their disgust over the dog-fighting allegations against the Atlanta Falcons quarterback. My hat's off to the anonymous entrepreneurs, who the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says are based in Jacksonville, Florida.

Apparently, the people behind the toy were going to donate the proceeds to the Jacksonville Humane Society but somehow that got messed up because of what the website describes as "squabbling over charitable donations." The toy's makers are promising to donate their proceeds anonymously. I've contacted the website and will let you know if I get a response.

The toy sells for $7.99 and is made out of "state-of-the-art dog material," whatever that means. It also promises to withstand "the most playful of dog destruction."

By the way, there's little if anything that Vick could do to stop the toy since it's satire and clearly doesn't imply his endorsement. The NFL star is learning what many celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan already know: Fame is a bitch.

Great news for you and Fido. And just in time for the August road trip season, too.

Withering pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced today that Cerenia, the first FDA-approved drug that prevents vomiting in dogs, is now available with your vet's prescription.

According to the Travel Information Association of America, dogs are the most common pet taken on car trips. Some 30 million dog owners have traveled with their pets on a road trip of over 50 miles in the last three years, according to the group (which is cited on Pfizer's Cerenia press release).

This development comes nipping at the heels of Pfizer's weight-loss pill for dogs, Slentrol, which went on sale last month. In January the FDA approved this first ever prescription drug to treat the growing gullets of dogs all across America.

Pfizer reported a dismal second quarter earnings earlier this month, posting a 48% drop in profits due to patent losses on some key drugs and lackluster sales in others. But I think the company, most famous for its breakout erection drug Viagra, is on to something fluffy here. Americans are consuming more prescription drugs than ever before, and they're spending more on their pets, who are just as fat and depressed as their owners. Why shouldn't there there be a healthy, growing market for canine (and feline) pharmaceuticals?

Pfizer doesn't break out individual numbers for its Animal Health unit, and so far, doggie drugs haven't fluffed up the bottom line. According to second quarter numbers, the company sold only $632 million in non-human drugs. But good things come to those who wait, don't they? Also to those who don't puke in cars. Good dog.

It's not the men brawling on "Hood Fights, Vol. 2, The Art of The Pit" that caused the outcry, it's the pit bull fighting scenes.

The DVD shows a series bloody dogfighting matches.  The dogs suffer for the sake of human enjoyment, the Humane Society says and claims such staged matches are in violation of federal law that prohibits profiting from the depiction of animal cruelty.  It is unclear if the U.S. attorney had opened an investigation.

Along with eBay, Amazon.com, Circuit City and Best Buy also said they would pull the DVD.

The courts haven't completely cleared up the gray area that would indicate whether or not eBay could be held accountable for sale of illegal items on its site. But regardless, eBay should be vigilant when it comes to the sale of such objectionable material on its site.

If not, trouble and law suits could ensue.  Its own mandate states that "eBay looks to the Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies for guidance on items that violate their policies on inappropriate marketing."