Demihuman Pets

Humans have tamed plenty of animals any adventurer can buy. Beasts bred by the elder races are another matter. The elven hound called the cooshee and the elven cat were long the famous examples, but elves, gnomes, halflings and dwarves have each quietly developed other breeds over many generations. All are scarce. Only the halfling pony is anywhere near as easy to find as ordinary livestock, and even unguarded breeds would be strangers in most human towns, dismissed in places as legend.

Keep these animals hard to obtain. If the whole party wants dwarven tunnel hounds, make them journey to a dwarf town and earn the breeder's favor, perhaps by killing a giant that has been wrecking the valley, only to learn that one pup in the litter is not already promised to the breeder's kin. Let the group settle who buys it.

Upkeep is a burden too. Raising a young animal between adventures is hard, and an untrained one may cause more trouble than it solves, barking at the worst moment, rushing into fights or vanishing to hunt for days. Unless the owner belongs to the breeding race, its care should never come easily.