As part of the campaign, Bayer is giving out 1,000 $20 vouchers a day good at your vet’s office from today until Feb. 28. Check it out here.

The next drawing is June 1. All you have to do to be eligible is be a subscriber to our free e-mail newsletter.

Check out the goodies:

• RapidBath Pet Bathing System
• 1-yr supply of RapidBath shampoo (18 cartridges)
• Paw Monster
• Golden A5 Heavy Duty Clipper
• Nail Grinder
• Odor Grabber Deluxe
• 1-yr supply of Odor Grabber replacement filters (6 filters)
• Oster Shedding rakes (set of 3)

All that, PLUS a $500 PetSmart Gift Card

Shipping within the continental United States is included in the deal, but not in the retail value.

What are you waiting for? All you need do to be eligible is sign up for the free e-newsletter. Click here to get started.

Check out the goodies:

• RapidBath Pet Bathing System
• 1-yr supply of RapidBath shampoo (18 cartridges)
• Paw Monster
• Golden A5 Heavy Duty Clipper
• Nail Grinder
• Odor Grabber Deluxe
• 1-yr supply of Odor Grabber replacement filters (6 filters)
• Oster Shedding rakes (set of 3)

All that, PLUS a $500 PetSmart Gift Card

Shipping within the continental United States is included in the deal, but not in the retail value.

What are you waiting for? All you need do to be eligible is sign up for the e-newsletter. Click here to get started.

Premier Pet was the first company to step forward with a donation, putting together a $500 basket of the tools top trainers love for the winner, and another identical $500 basket for the local rescue group or shelter of the winner’s choice.

B.J. Hodge of South Lake Tahoe won the goodies. And the matching gift is going to Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, per B.J.’s direction. This is a great organization! I’ve known many people who’ve adopted from them, and I’ve even fostered for them a couple of times . I couldn’t be happier to see a $500 gift basket heading their way. And B.J.’s, too. Congratulations to them both, and thanks to Premier for the donation!

Our next drawing is on May 1, and features a donation of $500’s worth of grooming products from the Oster company, plus a $500 Petsmart gift certificate. That $1,000 worth of the best for your pet, and all you have to do to be eligible is sign up for our FREE monthly e-newsletter.

What are you waiting for? Sign up!

The grousers are right. The state has bigger problems. And the whole thing is ridiculous.

Legalize ferrets.

That’s my opinion. In her “Your Whole Pet” column for the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com Web site, Christie has hers, too:

They’re cute, affectionate, furry and playful. There are tens of thousands
of them in California, and they’re allowed as pets in most countries and
every state except Hawaii.

So why are ferrets illegal in California?

It’s an old story, characterized by battling sets of statistics and
interpretations of natural history. To the California Department of Fish
and Game and some environmentalists, ferrets are wild animals with the
potential to establish feral colonies and wreak havoc on native species if
they escape from captivity.

But as Jeanne Carley of Californians for Ferret Legalization has pointed
out, the ferret has been classified “as domesticated by the United States
Department of Agriculture, Smithsonian Institute, Museum of Natural
History, the Humane Society of the United States and 150 zoos, zoological
societies and other authorities.”

Which isn’t to say I think all the objections to overturning the ban are
irrational; they’re not. Environmental protection is a huge issue in
California, and the battle over ferret legalization is no exception.

It’s just that I think the fears are unlikely to become reality. And
here’s why.

The rest is here.

Update: OK, even Christie makes a ferret joke. But it’s at the Governator’s expense:

That bill was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who some thought would sign it, given that he’d co-starred with a ferret in “Kindergarten Cop.” No such luck; the governor decided giving amnesty to California’s ferrets required an environmental impact report, even though it’s hard to imagine they could ever, even in a worst case scenario, do more damage to the ecology of the state than just one of Arnold’s Hummers.

Snarky good.

***

Our very, very first monthly drawing for $1,000’s worth of retail pet supplies has been made, and thankfully it doesn’t include anything for a ferret, since the winner lives in California. I’ll be in touch with B.J. Hodge of South Lake Tahoe today. The winner will be getting a $500 gift basket from Premier Pet, and will choose which animal charity gets the matching $500 basket.

I’ll have information about the May 1 $1,000 prize drawing up soon. In the meantime, sign up for the e-newsletter! It’s free, and you might win a pretty good prize.

On April 1 — no fooling — we’ll be drawing for pet gear from Premier Pet — $500’s worth of pet gear to the winner, and $500 worth of pet gear to the shelter or rescue group of the winner’s choice. Shipping included.

Details and sign-up information start on the PetConnection.com home page. Clock’s ticking on that Premier gear prize package.