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 techniqu es people employed to express their loss given a highly diverse public that may, or many not, be sympathetic to expressions of grief over pe ts. Four notice types were identified: The simple public notice [imper sonal] (20%); the simple public notice [personalized] (55%); the perso nal appeal notice (21%) and; the owner's story notice (4%). The relati onship between these styles of writing and public sanctions against op en grief are discussed. Directions for future research are identified.