Pets on Malevolence

One of the new additions to malevolence in its new incarnation, is the addition of a pet shop, where you can buy pets and have then follow you around, occasionally even doing more then relievilng themselves.
If you have lost your manual, or just decided to get rid of it, there is a copy of it at the bottom of this page.

The list of pets available, and their cost, are:

Bunny:           1 platinum and 2 gold coins
Cat:             2 platinum coins
Lizard:          2 platinum and 2 gold coins
Ferret:          3 platinum coins
Small Dog:       5 platinum coins
Large Dog:       7 platinum coins
Guard Dog:       10 platinum coins
War Dog:         12 platinum coins
Pony:            12 platinum coins
Mule:            15 platinum coins

Animal Handling

When you start out, you will only be able to get the Bunny or the Cat.
The kind of pet you can get is based on the number of animal handling (AH) points that you have. There is no way to tell what your AH points are, or how much AH you need to get a new pet.
How your AH can change:
1) How often your let is following you. You don't get AH if you have your pet sit or stay in a room, but if it tell it to heel or come with you, then your AH will advance again.
2) Petting and playing with your pet, using the play and pet commands (see manual below). You can use the pet command anytime, but if you play with your pet too much, then it will get tired and you have to wait to use it again.
3) Attacking your pet. If you attack your pet, it will get scared and run off, not to return. This will allow you to get a new pet, but it will also drastically lower your AH, to the point of usually not being able to get a better pet then you had before.

Getting a New Pet

After a while, you will either tire of your old pet (god forbid!) or want to try to get a more powerful pet. But, since there is no way to tell what your AH is at, or what it takes per animal, this is a very hard thing to judge. Some ways to get rid of a pet:
1) Old age. Your pet can now die of old age. After a while, the pet will just croak on you. (I haven't had this happen yet though, so I dont know a lot about what happens here yet)
2) You attack it. This will scare your pet off, but it will also make you lose a substantial amount of AH.
2) Have someone else attack and kill it. This will let you get a new pet, but I am not sure if there is any AH penalty with this happening.
Personally, out of these 3 methods, I recommend the first one, dying of old age.

The Pet Owner Manual

How to maintain and use your new pet:

A pet is a valuable companion for any adventurer.
Owning a pet is a rewarding experience that allows
you to gain skill as you interact with your pet.

Please be aware that owning a pet is a responsibility.
You shall own your pet until it dies.

Your pet may attempt to defend you, but this chance is remote,
except of course the specially-trained attack and guarding animals,
who will always try to defend you.

Your pet is vulnerable to area-effects. Please leave your pet in a
safe place before doing battle with area effects.

Pets need some attention. You must play with your pet regularly or
it will stop obeying your orders.

Leaving your pet behind will not improve your animal handling skill.
Hanging out with your pet will, though, as well as petting and playing
with them.

   All pets have the following functions:
   name [pet] [name]
        -This renames your pet with a new name.
         Please be polite when naming your pet.

   pet [pet]
        -This shows your love for your pet.

   play with [pet]
        -This lets you play with your pet. It is important
         to play with your pet on a regular basis.

   order [pet] [command] {arg}
        -valid pet commands for normal pets are:
         [stay]  or [sit]  : pet will stay in this spot.
         [heel]  or [come]  : pet will follow you again.

        -valid pet commands for war dogs are:
         [attack]  or [sick] {target} : pet will attack target.

        -valid pet commands for pack animals are:
         [pack] {item} : Will pack item onto pack animal.
          [unpack] {item} : Will unpack item from pack animal.