As I read through each example, a few conventions immediately pop out at me. First, under the "about" section I see characteristics, age, gender, size, color, coat length, health, name, the location of the animal, breed, and compatibility with other animals. However, if I look at the "meet" section, I see that I need to dig in deeper to find out more conventions. After analyzing all three examples I concluded that some conventions are as follows: how the dog was brought to the shelter/ foster, specific toys he plays with, his temper, if he is crate trained, his playing habits, whether or not he is house trained, the type of food he eats, if he needs daily medical attention, where a potential candidate can find an application, the adoption fee, if he is trained to walk on a leash, how he is in the car, and if he knows any commands.
The purpose of each and every single Petfinder listing is to get the animal adopted. Whether it be a dog, cat, sheep, pig, llama, horse, or even a hamster, each listing is written so that the animals are adopted into forever homes with endless love. In terms of who the intended audience is, it varies for each listing. Obviously for a dog listing the intended audience would be an individual looking to adopt a dog. However, the audience becomes narrowed down while the potential adopter reads an animals "about" and "meet" sections. For example, if a dog is not good with children then the audience narrows down to an individual, in a home with no children, looking to adopt a dog. This trend continues based on the conventions of each listing. The Tone of each Petfinder listing varies depending on many factors. The main tone of most listings starts off enthusiastically and with a lot of hope. This is because the writer of the listing is trying their best to write with excitement to get the dog adopted as quickly as possible. At times, it can change to be more informative so the reader knows that an animal may not be house trained or possibly not good with other animals. The style of all listings are mainly laid back with simple language and sentence structures. Imagery is used to describe the dog and what he enjoys doing most. Finally, the context as to why Petfinder exists is because the overpopulation of animals is leaving many dogs and cats, and even farm animals, homeless and uncared for. This is occasionally found in the United States, however; mainly in other parts of the world such as Europe, Asia, and South America. Petfinder exists to give as many animals as possible a fighting chance. Essentially, all the conventions that I have listed above are what make Petfinder listings, Petfinder listings. The only I would add is the pictures of the animals, and the layout of each listing. The colors are vibrant and inviting providing an exciting feel for the individual looking to adopt. The pictures also provide the feeling that when someone looks at that animal they can think to themselves "I can see myself with this dog in the future."
