We are coming to the end of our menagerie of animal and pet stories.We have been highlighting the value of the animal story in the communication arsenal. This was sparked by a report on the number of people who keep pets, the amount of money they lavish on them, the open affection they shower on their pets….all this suggests that pets and animals are near to people’s hearts. Animals are an active avenue for gaining people’s attention.
Pet stories touch us deeply, whether they’re about birth and death, lost and found, search and rescue or love and loyalty. Often animals simply help us to wonder.
We can overdo the animal story thing (as we have in this blog site this week!)
Remember, there are cultural dimensions to watch. Where I am currently living, stories about cuddly piglets would go down as well as pork chops on the barbecue. Similarly, in this part of the world dogs are unclean (haram) and are not kept as pets, except by ex-pats (excuse the pun). Furthermore, if you go to be a guest speaker in New Zealand you’ll lose your rapport with your audience if you tell another sheep story!
Please squeal out [i.e. post a comment] if you’ve been trying out some animal stories recently and with what noticeable effect.
Because I find these stories hard to resist I’m going to post one last animal story in my next offering.
Geoff Pound
Image: Ever alert emu.