My family and I just returned from our awesome trip to BlizzCon. Here is some additional pet-related news I have to report:
FigurePets
I visited the FigurePrints booth and talked with "the man", Ed Fries. He said the first series of FigurePets was well received and they are now gearing up for the release of Series 2. The new pets will be three of the following five: Egbert, Grunty, Muckbreath, Sleepy Willy, and Worg Pup. I hope they pick Egbert. He's one of my favorites!
Archaeology
With the Cataclysm expansion will come a new secondary skill, Archaeology. Like Fishing, Cooking, and First Aid, everyone will be able to learn this new skill. Players will be able to discover artifacts and conduct research to unlock various paths and items. These items may include new mini-pets, such as a fossilized baby dinosaur!
Engineering
The plans for Engineering in the next expansion are to get "back to its roots." This means more gadgets, toys, and mini-pets, with plenty of catastrophic backfiring to go along. Don't worry. Those of you who dropped engineering after making Lil' Smoky and Pet Bombling still have plenty of time to relevel it!
Kwurky the Murloc
OK, I admit this one is pure speculation... but one can always hope! The BlizzCon 2009 store introduced new baby murloc plushies for sale. These included Murky and Lurky. Additionally, a new green baby murloc plushy named Kwurky was given to attendees who signed up for a subscription to World of Warcraft: The Magazine. You can see my daughter holding all three plushies in this photo. Now is it such a stretch to assume, since the white and blue murloc plushies have in-game vanity pet counterparts, that the green one should as well? I sure hope Blizzard adds Kwurky as a 100 pet achievement reward. PLEASE? Oh and where the heck is the Gurky plushy?
Cataclysm: Removed Pets
As Breanni mentioned previously, with all the upheaval and change coming in the Cataclysm expansion, it is possible that some pets may become unavailable, particularly ones that drop from old world mobs. I would like to emphasize that we simply do not know which, if any, pets will be affected. Please rest assured that you still have plenty of time to collect these pets, as the expansion might not be released for another year or so.