SAN DIEGO -- Jeanne Evanchuk has made it her business to plan parties for pets.

She sells all kinds of pooch paraphernalia and fancy feline toys from a company called Shure Pets.

"We usually gather at the dog park at night, or at Dog Beach on weekends, so why not a pet party?" Evanchuk said.

Evanchuk recently held a pet party at which pet owners heard the latest pitch in pet products. The dogs certainly seemed to love taste-testing peanut butter treats and biscuits, along with playing with a wide assortment of toys.

"The frisbee has edges, so if it does land, the dog has an easy time picking it up," Evanchuk explained during the pet party.

Some people may think pet parties are a bit too much, but pet owners say they're not.

"I love seven or eight people in this world and one of them is my dog," Russell Cowenhoven said.

Cowenhoven's dog, Porkchop, has skin allergies, and finding the right products has been difficult.

"You have the benefit of people who have experience with these products. Certainly in a pet store, you don't always have that," he said.

And for serious pet owners who can't afford all the luxuries available at the pet party, pet owners can visit Web sites like MyPetPlus.com and register online to make a wish list of items they want.

But one thing they can't register for is the benefit of socializing their pet.

"Dogs are more and more a part of people's families, and we're just as devoted to them as we might be to our children," dog owner Chrissy Arnold said.

For more information, visit the Shure Pets Web site.