A 52-carat $1.8 million dog collar…. enough said. These days, pet owners are starting to get ridiculous with merchandise for their pets.

They purchase almost everything for them, whether it is a mink fur coat for a dog that costs $725 or a Hello Kitty crystal doghouse that costs $31,660.

According to the International Pet Product News website, pet industry spending topped $48 billion in 2010, increasing from $45.53 billion in 2009.

Even with the rising prices in gas and the economy being anything but exceptional, it hasn’t seemed to stop pet owners from purchasing for their pets.

Maybe this is one of the reasons why we can’t get out of the recession that has plagued us for the past couple of years; Americans are spending too much on their pets.

Unfortunately, clothes and jewelry are not the only things that the owners have spent a lot of money on.

There is also food that seems to be sold at outrageous prices, some of it claiming to be gourmet and organic; some of it is even more expensive than food that we humans eat.

Like a pan seared duck with brown rice. Or roasted turkey with squash, potatoes and salmon. That almost resembles a menu fit for a human being, except it’s not. It’s food items that dogs actually eat.

What happened to the days of just feeding dogs, “regular dog food” like normal dog biscuits and other dog treats? It’s not like their pets are going to love their owners any less if they do feed them regular food.

Aside from the jewelry and food, some owners have even had some lavish parties for their pets.

According to the International Pet Product News website, 9 percent of dog owners and 4 percent of cat owners have had a holiday or birthday party for their pet.

In recent days, parties have been much more common for pets, resulting in a lot of websites, including, www.petbirthdayparty.com which helps the pet owners with getting party supplies and apparel.

It is understood that people want pets so that they can have a companion. And owners want to make sure that pets don’t get stressed out.

However, there is no need to go over the top by purchasing all these luxuries for the pets. They will still equally love their owners. Just allow pets be pets and let them live!