Editing Pet

{{Quality|Exceptional|10:37, 21 February 2023 (CST)}}

[[File:pet_preview.png|right]]'''Pets''' are [[creatures]] that have been adopted by your [[dwarves]]. Almost all domestic animals that are not pets are termed "[[stray]]" animals.  All creatures that can be [[Animal trainer|trained]] (those who possess either the {{token|PET}} or {{token|PET_EXOTIC}} [[creature token]]s) can be made into pets; in the case of dwarves, that is most creatures that are not [[:Category:Humanoids|sapient]] (emphasis on the "[[Animal_trainer#Taming_intelligent_creatures|most]]"). All pets will follow their owners around, providing a companionship [[happiness]] bonus (based on the creature's pet value), being fed by their owners if they are [[grazer]]s, and, in many cases, protecting them from harm, either by actively attacking enemies, or by acting as meat shields that allow their charges to scramble away to safety.

=== Pet value ===

| human  = pathril}}All creatures who can become pets (and some who can't, because of missing the aforementioned creature tokens) possess a '''pet value''' in their raw files which determines how much they are worth. Higher pet values normally imply the animal is more exotic, impressive or uncommon than others. For example, a [[dog]] has a pet value of 30, a [[jaguar]] of 50, a [[panda]] of 300 and a [[cave crocodile]] of 700. A creature with no pet value is treated as having a value of 0. See the full [[list of creatures by pet value]] for details.

Dwarves who adopt creatures with high pet values will be slightly happier than those who adopt creatures with low ones, so Urist McSpiderlover will be especially cheerful to have a [[giant cave spider]] following him around when compared to Urist McCarrotlover and his [[rabbit]]s {{verify}}. Regardless, both low- and high-value pets are a means to keep dwarves from becoming stressed.

Pet value is most relevant for [[trading]], as it determines how many [[Currency|dwarfbucks]] you'll receive for selling the creature away. It also interferes directly upon taking [[domestic animal]]s during [[embark]]ing, as animals with higher pet values will cost more points than others. The cost in points in the embarking screen is 1+(pet value/2) for an untrained animal and 1+pet value for a war/hunting one.

=== Adopting ===

Pets normally cannot be assigned; rather, dwarves will adopt them on an ''ad hoc'' basis. The only exception is [[Animal trainer|trained hunting and war animals]], which will be adopted by whomever they are assigned to. Dwarves that are idling near a wandering [[stray]] animal set available for adoption may choose to make them their pet, giving them a name, causing the animal to follow them around, and giving the owner a happy "got a pet" [[thought]]. The chances of this event happening are strongly influenced by your dwarves' personal [[preferences]]; while they will rarely go out of their way to adopt animals, every dwarf has a preference for a certain creature, and will select them as pets when available, often resulting in the fortress engraver being followed around by a family of [[dog]]s. If the owner of a pet dies, the pet will keep their name but become a stray.

You can control what animals are up for adoption through the animal {{k|u}}nits menu, the "Pets/Livestock" tab. There, you can toggle available/unavailable on each tame individual, freeing them up for adoption. Animals will never be adopted out of a [[cage]], and must be let out to roam for adoption to take place. [[Stray]] animals tend to accumulate at [[meeting area]]s, which facilitates adoption. Make sure that your meeting areas are large enough to accommodate all your strays and prevent [[overcrowding]], and be aware that [[grazer|grazing]] animals tend to starve to death in your [[dining room]] if you do not assign them to a [[pasture]] instead.  

 

If a [[grazer]] which is ''already'' a pet becomes hungry, it will generate a job for its owner to feed it; however, this job is low-priority, so it's possible for the pet to starve to death if the owner is otherwise occupied.

 

 

 

=== Utility ===

As long as a creature is somebody's pet, they cannot be [[butcher]]ed, [[restraint|chained]], or [[cage]]d; this can lead to a [[catsplosion]] when there are several crazy cat ladies in your fortress and you don't immediately butcher all the kittens or geld the tomcats. If you do manage to assign a pet to a cage or restraint (by issuing the order before the adoption), the new owner will attempt to release it. Newly acquired pets that were previously scheduled for butchering will still be butchered, however the new owner will experience a negative thought from the loss of their pet.

Another possible use is for large grazers, which are unable to keep themselves fed via grazing. By turning them into a pet, you can, essentially, have a dwarf dedicated to keeping them fed. This could open up some interesting options (such as utilizing tame [[elephant]]s, without worrying about them starving themselves).

=== Good pets ===

The value of a pet is based upon the species' internal pet value. It also helps if the animals in question aren't useful for anything else, although assigning pets to pastures to keep them in place works fine, allowing such things as pet [[alligator]] [[egg production|egg farms]]. Milkable and shearable pets are excellent, since they can still be taken to a [[farmer's workshop]] to get their goods. The best pets of all are [[cave dragon]]s and [[megabeast]]s, if the world is old enough and/or you are lucky enough to cage some.

=== Migrant pets ===

[[Migrant]]s will bring stray animals, but may also bring one or more pets along. While this can be a boon, some players may find it a hindrance; pet animals with no value beyond [[butchery]], such as [[mule]]s, may be viewed as clutter, and, as pets, cannot simply be butchered. One solution is to assign them to a [[zone]] designated as a pasture somewhere conveniently dangerous, such as under an [[bridge|atom smasher]], or in a field to trip up [[ambush|ambushers]]. Be warned that dead pets do generate negative [[thought]]s, so it's a judgement call as to which is worse.

=== Vermin ===

Many types of [[vermin]] can be trained and set as available to be a pet. In practice, dwarves rarely have a preference for vermin, and so they generally won't adopt any. Adopted vermin are carried by the dwarf as an item-a dwarf may adopt up to three, but migrant dwarves never arrive with vermin for a pet.

{{category|Fortress mode}}