Posted by Counselor Oz on August 02, 1999 at 23:30:12:

Hi Brittanians! I hope you're all doing super swell and that you're all enjoying UO to the max!

This is my first post here at Counselor Blues (definitely not my last!), and for those of you who don't know me, I'm Oz, from the Atlantic Shard. Today, I'd like to take a little time to tell you about Counselors and pets. Allow me to preface it with the following:

Counselors, as I'm sure you all know, are benevolent Smurf-like beings endowed with many magical qualities�and definitely the gift of gab. If there's one thing that we do most�it's talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk! And, to be honest, we're used to seeing our words impact the game and have positive effects on people. So, when we talk, and can't get a response, we feel bummed out :(

This is where pets come in. If there's anything we love (other than parties at the guildhall and invitations to player events), it's�you guessed it�animals! Excepting the Counselors with allergies *grins*, we all jump at the chance to play with our furrier Brittanian friends. Cats especially like us, but they shed all over our robes when they rub up against our legs :)

Many of you generous pet owners notice our enthusiasm toward your pets and reach out to share that enthusiasm by making us friends with them. This is a wonderful gift to us, and it makes us feel pretty special :) Friendship between Counselors and animals is a good thing. BUT, Counselors being given ownership of animals is not :(

It's usually pretty innocent when it happens. A player is happy to see us and transfers his pet's ownership to us. This is where the problems begin. What happens when we have to leave? Just transfer the ownership back to the owner, right? WRONG!! It turns out that this is one of those situations where Counselors can talk all they want, and the pets won't respond. They just don't listen to our commands. Whether or not the pets are just stupid is another issue...*smirk*

Now, if it's a small puppy, or similar pet, the situation can be corrected easily. But if the pet is a mount, like a horse, llama, or ostard, the ordeal becomes more complex. If the pet is a pack horse or pack llama with a full pack, then things really become difficult. The only way to re-gain ownership is to wait until the pet goes wild and get someone to tame it again for you. But that can take a long time-especially if it's a happy horse with a stomach full of carrots. It's also usually very inconvenient, particularly if you're a lumberjack or miner who depends on a pack animal for livelihood.

The moral of the story is clear. Players, please don't transfer ownership of pets to your Counselor buddies. It's an outright nice gesture, but its consequences can be difficult to manage. To all you wonderful pet owners-THANK YOU for showing your appreciation and offering us tokens of friendship through your animals. Every new friend we gain, whether it walks on two legs or four; whether it flies or swims, means a lot to us.

Until next time, friends! Keep having fun! Stay cool ;)

Counselor Oz

.