Pet industry continues growth trend.

There really is no doubt that if there is any industry to be in right now, it's the pet industry.

According to a recent article in Pet Industry News International, "the pet industry continues to perform as recession resistant, according to the American Pet Products Association, which released its 2010 Pet Industry Spending Figures today. Overall spending in the pet industry grew by 6.2 percent from $45.53 billion in 2009 to $48.35 billion in 2010."

Items of note in the report indicate:

• The APPA forecasts continued growth through 2011 with a total spending to exceed $50 billion, a 5.1 percent increase.

• Health care related pet spending continues to show the greatest growth within the pet industry, according to APPA figures, with spending on veterinary care growing by 8.1 percent to $13.01 billion in 2010.

• The survey shows that the number of U.S. households that own a pet has increased by 2.1 percent to an all time high of 72.9 million. About four out of 10 pet owning households are multiple pet owners.

• The breakdown of the number of pets owned are as follows: 78 million dogs, 86.4 million cats, 151.1 million freshwater fish, 8.61 million saltwater fish, 16.2 million birds, 16 million small animals, 13 million reptiles and 7.9 million equines.

Read more about the APPA's Pet Owner Industry Stats and Trends.