Ever since "Watership Down" changed the way we see rabbits, and "Old Yeller" and "Cujo" made us doubt our family pets, animals have been important aspects of stories. Okay, I'm joking. Animals have been part of stories since human beings have been capable of talking. We love funny pets, curious creatures, and all sorts of animals. Some of the most popular YouTube videos are cat and dog videos. Yup, we love animals.
From an author's standpoint, having animals in stories allows for some really neat interplay and character development. We can determine a lot about a character simply by how they react to animals. Treat a stray cat nicely, and we know immediately that this person is trustworthy (not necessarily correct, but it leads us to the conclusion). Have a villain toss a bagged dog into a stream and it's either a horrid person or a very different culture than the one we grew up in (either way, it's doubtful the audience will trust the character).
Animals also reflect the people they are around, many times acquiring the personalities and mannerisms of their owners. Because of this trait, we can get funny little glimpses of hidden flaws and counter play between the animals and people. They also are capable of getting away with behaviors that a regular character simply couldn't accomplish. Animals are too cute to be ashamed. Unless it's a skunk, and those things shouldn't exist at all--(only kidding, I'm sure they have a good purpose).
- M
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