Lassie Come Home: A Study of ‘Lost Pet’ Notices

This is a report of a qualitative, content analysis of 100 “Lost Pet” notices. The aim of the study was to identify what literary techniques people employed to express their loss given a highly diverse public that may, or many not, be sympathetic to expressions of grief over pets. Four notice types were identified: The simple public notice [impersonal] (20%); the simple public notice [personalized] (55%); the personal appeal notice (21%) and; the owner's story notice (4%). The relationship between these styles of writing and public sanctions against open grief are discussed. Directions for future research are identified.