Pet Biz Stories Fetch Readers

We’re about halfway through the dog days of 2009 – theoretically the sultriest, laziest days of the year.

If you’ve hit summer melancholy in your writing, challenge yourself with something like this: Can I get a puppy or a kitten into a business centerpiece display next week?

The $45 billion-a-year business of pets has boundless reader appeal. Animal lovers will lap up the information and the anti-pet contingent will devour your article too, rolling its collective eyes at the cash people spend on those darned cats and dogs, parrots and pigs.
The Petco and PetSmart, whose sites also offer fun facts and financials. Ask pet store proprietors – especially independent ones – about local suppliers; these small businesses could make interesting biz features or career spotlight stories. Seek out new or unexpected products.

Other good features include doggie day care, animal spas and motels, pet trainers, sitting services (we’re in peak of vacation season), kennels - the list goes on. Relatively new to the scene are the pet-waste pick-up services; there’s an interesting work-life story for you.

Or, focus on the business of pet health care. If you have a pharmaceutical firm nearby, check to see if they’re working on animal formulations of common human medications. Many veterinary clinics feature up-to-date technology and treatment. Look for the labs that process their blood work and companies that manufacture kitty-sized surgical equipment.

Be adventuresome. I once spent an entire night – 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. – in a for-profit emergency veterinary clinic. Patients ranged from the city’s $35,000 K-9 dog (upset stomach but X-rayed just in case) to a scrawny yellow scrap of a kitten whose destitute family couldn’t afford treatment. (The brusque, barely-out-of-vet-school doctor pulling the late shift nearly let them go but at the last minute picked up the tiny cat and carried it away, treating it at his own expense with an exasperated sigh.) Try something similar; the stories practically write themselves and you get a first-hand view of veterinary economics. Not to mention a vast array of multimedia opportunities for your Web site.

For more ideas try the pet funeral and cemetery industry. Condolence cards are going mainstream; ask stationery and gift shops how sales are doing. Urns, caskets, grave markers, memory jewelry and other products are a huge business.

Come back to Your Daily Tipsheet each morning for advice on where to find sources, background and creative ways to make financial news and trends relevant to your audience.