Getting to know you...again

Since I've been doing all of this soul-searching and reevaluating of pets, I've been making a point of spending extra time with the ones I haven't felt as close to.  The process is different for every pet, since they all have different backstories.  Some had an initial spark at the beginning.  Others warmed up over time.  The ones I already let go or intend to transform into minipets are pets I never truly bonded with (with the exception of Hippomenes, whose history with me is complicated), not deeply enough that they must be in my stable.

My number one concern is Cerberus.

My dear white corehound was my first exotic pet, way back in the pre-Wrath patch that expanded our stables to five.  I always liked Omen's look, and to know that I could tame the Kurken as him was extremely exciting.  Once I needed to have a wolf, he was game to morph into a red hellhound - a fitting match, or so it had seemed.  He made it through a number of raids, at least until ICC.  Then one of the other hunters in my raid picked up a red hellhound of his own.  Somehow, that enabled me to see the flaws in the model.  This marked the second time Cerberus had lost his individuality.  (The first was when other white corehounds named Cerberus kept popping up.)  That was when Hector was born and Cerberus left my stable until the pre-Cataclysm patch.  He was a shoo-in to be retamed and he always ranks highly in my "must have" exotics, but that initial bond has not yet returned.  There are so many reasons why this might be that I can't even begin to guess which is the actual cause.  I'm up to four dog-like pets now (plus Theseus, the big green dino-puppy), on top of everything else.  I can't even change his skin; he's not a drooly puppy and Chromaggus is too....pink.  No, Cerberus must be white.

I just don't know how to get that spark back.  I'm not sure if I can, or if I should even be trying to.  I've been running around with him on live and nothing has changed.  But perhaps there's a reason for that.  I think Cerberus has established himself as a necessary presence in my stable and on my roster, whether I need heroism or not.  He would be there regardless.  In other words...overthinking things can create problems where there should be none.

Lesson learned.

Since Leo and I worked things out in my previous post, my other major concern is Pygmalion.

He was my pre-Cataclysm rescue from Loch Modan, the Large Loch Crocolisk, who I'd only ever seen that one time.  He spent a few nameless days with me in Storm Peaks helping me (futilely) camp for the TLPD before he became Pygmalion....and then I still kept him by my side because I wanted to get to know him.  Unfortunately for Pyg, Gumbo pretty much has a monopoly on the crocolisk spot in my heart, and Kalliope never really needed him by her side.  As a basilisk, Pygmalion could have a new life....but there's a small hitch.  Basilisks have a CANNOT UNSEE graphical issue with their head's idle animation.  And it's getting to me.

As long as I don't idle with him, things should be okay.  I do like him in his new form.  It's just that one animation that's blocking me from him.  Such a superficial reason.  There is hope, though - if I stop focusing on the animation, I'm less likely to see it.  So perhaps with time, I will be able to unsee.

Here's hoping.

(Fun behind the scenes side note: Cerberus posed for the howl completely on his own, without coaxing. I'm taking that as a good sign too.)