Your message must be professional – not cutesy. Forget about your dog doing the voiceovers. Keep it short and snappy. Make sure you keep a call sheet handy and teach your family how to take a message if everyone is using the same phone. If you have a teenage daughter and just one line then you must get Call Answering because the line is likely to be busy and people will only call back so many times.
Consider giving out your e-mail and web site address as partof your message.
If you sound like a drone then have someone with a pleasant voice record your message.
Keep the tone of the message business-like.
