Prescriptions, publications part of Valley pet industry. (Up Front).

SMALL business. The backbone of the San Fernando Valley economy.

And, a significant number of small companies based here happen to cater to what has grown quietly into a multi-billion-dollar industry: pet care.

Trail a finger down the list of doggy day care centers and pet sitting services located in the Valley and you could wander for days.

Roughly 30 percent of the hundreds of Southern California animal rescue and adoption service organizations are based in the Valley, one of them perhaps the best-known and best-funded in the country: Actors & Others for Animals in North Hollywood.

The Valley is also home to a number of unusual pet-related businesses, most run by animal lovers looking for a way to turn their pet passions into profits. Others simply found themselves in the pet care business by accident.

A good example of the latter is Valley Drug and Compounding Inc. in Encino, originally established as a pharmacy (strictly for people) by pharmacist Irv Reitzenstein in 1998.

But because the business also houses a compounding lab, veterinarians began calling on Reitzenstein a few years ago for custom-made prescriptions for their animal patients. One call led to another and, before long, Reitzenstein found himself in the pet prescription business.

Now, roughly 75 percent of the 140 or so prescriptions his pharmacy fills each day are for animals, which has slowed down production somewhat: Before the pet owners took over, Valley Drug used to fill about 400 to 500 prescriptions a day.

"It's not the profitable side of the business, but it's a solid business," said Reitzenstein.

When called upon, Valley Drug can make a fish-flavored liquid antibiotic for a cat or a gummy bear-style painkiller any dog would swallow. Or how about a banana cream-flavored anti-anxiety drop, perfect for pacifying a parrot who can't stop biting out its feathers? "If it doesn't exist, we can make it," said Reitzenstein.

Pets Naturally in Sherman Oaks offers health food and supplies for dogs and cats, including homeopathic medicines and resources for alternative forms of pet therapy.

Therapy, you say?

How about a massage for that lackadaisical Lab or hyperactive hamster?

Chatsworth-based For the Comfort of Animals offers in-home massage for stressed out pets, specializing in older animals with arthritis and other ailments.

Today, For the Comfort of Animals is one of more than two dozen regular advertisers in Pet Press, an all-animal all-the-time, free publication you can pick up at just about any of the businesses listed here and others across the Valley.

Launched by Lori Golden in 1999, the publication offers resources, articles and listings for pet lovers, including tips and stories written by Golden herself, as well as hotlines for animal foundations, adoption programs and calendars for animal-related special events.

The Valley, she said, is prime breeding ground for pet-related businesses, so as a pet lover herself, she's attempting to use the publication to promote the pet care industry, but also hopes to make a dent in the number of unwanted animals killed or abandoned each day.

"This is my full-time job," said Golden, a Northridge resident.

Golden said her circulation has grown by about 250 percent in the last two years and she's now thinking of franchising the publication to other parts of the city.

The Cat Hotel in Burbank is one of a handful of board and care facilities in the Valley catering to cats. Glendale is home to Mobile Vet, one of the Valley's first veterinary clinics on wheels run by Dr. Chris Cauble, who treats most domestic pets but specializes in reptiles and fish.

Canoga Park-based Houndstooth takes the mobile grooming industry one step further: the two sisters who run this company offer non-anesthetic dog and cat teeth cleaning services in your home.

Speaking of cleaning, Tim Phillips' Burbank company, Mr. Scooper, is one of a few businesses in the Valley offering pet waste removal. For about $35 a week, Mr. Scooper's team of experts will clean up after your dog and dispose of the evidence.

The Pet Pastor, also known as Rev. Dr. Damon Leigh of Sherman Oaks, offers pet blessings, spiritual healing, memorial services and grief counseling for animals and their owners.

And finally, the Los Angeles Memorial Park in Calabasas, home to some of Hollywood's most famous pets, like Rudolph Valentino's dog, Kabar, and Hopalong Cassidy's horse, Topper, offers burial services and final resting places for pets who've passed on.