Digging for Pets

"Many of the archaeology items are stored in your journal, not your bags, so inventory space shouldn't be a big problem. While many of the artifacts are only there for rewards, the rare finds run the gamut from unique toys to usable weapons to special pets." - ghostcrawler

archaeology will be a new secondary profession in cataclysm, so while it won't be a major or mandatory profession, i'll definitely be picking it up just to see what sort of "special pets" the devs have in store for us.

i can think of a few possible archaeology companions that would fit along the titan lore (i'm hoping that we get to see some new models instead of reskinned, sized-down, currently implemented creature models):

- miniature stone watchers
- miniature golems
- baby rock elementals

ok ok, so my imagination is limited to stone/earthy vanity pet at the moment, but who knows what other types we'll be able to unearth with the new profession!

my biggest question and concern is the rate at which we can discover the "rare" archaeology vanity pets and whether or not they will be profession specific or if they will be bind on use.

like i've mentioned before, i'm ok with grinding/farming for companions. it's time consuming and tedious work, but it feels so rewarding once you've got your little friend at the end. i'm wondering if archaeology will follow the same lines as world drop pets, or will there be specific qualifications that need to be met before being able to discover a "rare find" (besides the obvious skill level).

also yet to be seen is whether or not these pets will require you to have archaeology or can you simply wait until one goes on sale on the AH? (as a pet collector, why would you wait though?! :P) since this is a secondary profession, it's not absolutely vital or necessary for a party/raid/guild. those who don't have the time to level something optional or wish to just skip it altogether are free to do so, but i have a feeling that there will be some clamor of being left out if the vanity companions are profession specific.

hopefully we'll get more details on archaeology pets as the release of cataclysm draws closer and closer. some previews would be especially exciting!