There is a bill making rounds on Capitol Hill that would provide a tax break for up to $3,500 for pet expenses. Does Fido really deserve a tax deduction? Do we really need to subsidize pet ownership in this country?

The recession has been extra hard on pets as people have abandoned pets at shelters they are no longer able to properly care for them. Pet can be very expensive between food, visits to the vet and increased rent. Those of you who think dog food is expensive should try to feed a horse sometime!

Analyst upgrades:

• Piper Jaffray upgraded PetMed Express (NASDAQ: PETS) to Overweight from Neutral following the better-than-expected Q1 results. The firm raised its target on shares to $22 from $19.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded International Paper (NYSE: IP) and Packaging Corp. (NYSE: PKG) to Buy from Hold to reflect stabilization in the containerboard industry. The firm raised its target price on Packaging Corp. to $24 from $14, and on International Paper to $24 from $16.
• Bernstein upgraded Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI) to Outperform from Market Perform following the positive Phase III data for Benlysta in lupus.
• IBM (NYSE: IBM) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Societe Generale.
• British Airways (OTC: BAIRY) was upgraded to Buy from Sell at Goldman.
• Continental AG (OTC: CTTAY) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company's product portfolio is recovering.
  
• Canaccord upgraded Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $450 from $300. The analyst said industry checks indicate deteriorating search conditions have started to improve in late March and notes that the market is already pricing in a weak Q1.
  
• Wachovia upgraded CGI (NYSE: GIB) to Outperform from Market Perform. In addition to valuation, the firm cited the company's defensive profile, comfort with its fiscal 2009 estimates, and its expectation that the company will continue to have strong signings.
• Siliconware Precision (NASDAQ: SPIL) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.
  
• Matrixx Initiatives (NASDAQ: MTXX) was lifted to Buy from Hold at Roth Capital.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: PetMed Express, Mindspeed and QLogic were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Piper upgraded shares of PetMed Express (NASDAQ: PETS) to Neutral from Sell after the company's Q1 results topped estimates on strong new customer growth. Piper raised their target to $14 from $11.
  
• Oppenheimer raised Mindspeed (NASDAQ: MSPDD) to Outperform from Perform following the Q3 results, as they believe the company is hitting its stride in VoIP after years of investment and the stock is attractively valued.
  
• Citigroup upgraded QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC) shares to Buy from Hold following the company's Q1 results and Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD)'s acquisition of Foundry Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FDRY) to reflect its solid fundamentals and the strategic significance of its switch business. The firm raised their target to $20 from $18.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman added Amylin Pharma (NASDAQ: AMLN) to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Cleco (NYSE: CNL) was raised to Buy from Hold at Soleil.
  
• Canadian National Oil (NYSE: CNI) was upgraded at TD Newcrest to Buy from Hold.

"One way to deal with a choppy market is to focus on steady performers with strong market positions in growing industries," says Richard Moroney.

In his Upside Stocks, a leading newsletter focused on small and mid-cap stocks,, he notes, "PetMed Express (NASDAQ: PETS), a leading nationwide pet pharmacy and retailer, fits the bill nicely." Here, the advisor offers his review.

"PetMed Express sells prescription (30% of fiscal 2007 revenue) and nonprescription medications and health products (70%) to retail customers ordering by phone, via the Internet, or through a catalog. The company's Web site generates nearly two-thirds of annual sales.

"Fiscal 2008 ending March should represent the firm's sixth consecutive year of at least 20% per-share profit growth. While earnings growth is expected to slow to about 10% in fiscal 2009, recent operating results suggest PetMed is capable of exceeding consensus expectations.

"PetMed is benefiting from strong market fundamentals and constructive trends. An estimated 63% of U.S. households own a pet, up from 56% in 1988. The U.S. dog and cat population is estimated at a staggering 163 million.

We here at BloggingStocks are quite diligent about reviewing the comments from our readers. Whether added to a blog post or submitted directly to our editorial staff via the home page widget, your viewpoints are critical to making this a well rounded presentation. In response to a comment by a reader whom I'll identify only as Laura B., I'd like to address a very important issue which she offered for our consideration.

Laura expressed a concern which is brought to her mind by a television commercial which was produced for Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM). You've probably seen the commercial yourself. In the advertisement a father labors valiantly to build a tree house for his children to play in, only to have the kids absently spurn his efforts in lieu of playing in a Toyota Sienna outfitted with all the latest electronic gizmos. Laura's issue is with the action of the father closing the door on the vehicle and then leaving view. The kids (I assume) remain in the vehicle unattended.

Every year an unacceptable number of children and pets succumb to the heat which is quickly generated by sunshine beating down upon tightly closed motor vehicles. I'm reminded of an incident which happened near to where I previously lived. A woman returned to her minivan after shopping and placed her infant in it's car seat. She then closed the van door, accidentally locking her keys inside. The good news is that this particular story had a happy ending, another shopper quickly produced a tire iron and they entered the van by breaking a window. However, the time span from door locking to window breaking was estimated at three minutes, and even in that short time span the child became over heated to the point that they needed to immediately employ extra measures to cool the child's body temperature back to a safe level.

The earnings crunch is in full swing, and here are a few of the highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) swung to a profit on the strength of drug sales.
• AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) swung to a fourth-quarter profit and easily beat estimates.
• Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALDN) posted solid results and raised its forecast.
• Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) reported a record quarter and reaffirmed its guidance.
• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) beat exectations, but concerns remain about FDA scrutiny.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) easily beat expectations and offered revised guidance (see live blog, transcript).
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) posted a solid quarter on strong international growth.
• Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) beat estimates on strong direct-to-customer and same-store sales.
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) posted a strong fourth quarter due to rising oil prices.
• CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) beat expectations as increased productivity offset increased fuel costs.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) posted solid fourth quarter results due to growth overseas.
• Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc. (NYSE: ELS) beat expectations in the fourth quarter and offered guidance.
• Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) reported solid results and increased its quarterly dividend.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) posted a solid fourth quarter and affirmed its 2008 guidance.
• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted strong results due in part to demand for Vista.
• Nintendo Co. (OTC: NTDOY) profit soared on demand for the Wii, and the company raised is sales outlook.
• Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) reported a strong fourth quarter and increased market share in handset sales.

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.

Looks like the so-called "war on Christmas" has begun. Lowe's Cos. (NYSE: LOW) and PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETS) have angered the American Family Association, a prominent religious conservative group.

The home improvement retailer earned AFA's ire by calling Christmas trees "family trees" in a catalog. A Lowe's spokeswoman, speaking to the Charlotte Observer, called using the term an error that came during the "creative process." Lowe's has profusely apologized and the AFA has apparently forgiven the company. "We appreciate Lowe's for listening to its customers and responding appropriately to our concerns," AFA said on its website.

Investors searching the stock universe for a defensive play in today's uncertain, sluggish market may want to consider MWI Veterinary Supply Inc. (NASDAQ: MWIV).

MWI Veterinary is looking at sales gains of its flea/tick product, as a result of fewer distributors in this pet care segment. Behind regular physicals and vaccinations, flea & tick control medication is the most common service received at veterinary clinics, with about 40% of U.S. dogs receiving treatment.

Another positive: MWIV's footprint is large -- it serves more than 15,000 veterinary clinics.

Also significant is MWIV's sector: pet care. Historically, pet care as a sector has held its own during sluggish economic conditions. The sector exhibits defensive qualities because pet care, like the purchase of clothes, soap, shampoo and cereal, is an area Americans historically don't cut back during tougher economic conditions.

MWIV currently trades around $36. The Reuters 2007 and 2008 EPS consensus estimates are $1.39 and $1.62.

So maybe the pet food scare can't be blamed on China after all. The FDA announced that melamine, the same ingredient found in tainted kibble from China, has been used in animal feed ingredients made by a U.S. company. The ensuing recall involved feed made by Tembec BTLSR Inc. of Toledo, Ohio and used by Uniscope Inc. of Johnstown, Colorado.

Officials said that the melamine in animal feed does not pose any threat to human health, but this is still a very interesting development in the pet food scare. It was previously thought to be limited to China, and many people have been blaming the Chinese for inadequate labeling and quality control practices.

When the use of melamine in pet food was discovered in China, it was though that it had been added to show higher protein levels in the food. The American manufacturers are thought to have been using it to bind feed for cattle, sheep and goats.

Melamine has numerous industrial uses. It can be used as a binding agent, flame retardant, and is used in fertilizer in some countries.