So what are your alternatives?

[nochance]

I'm currently camping Sambas, but not having any luck. Not even an estimated tame/kill time in chat.

However the other day I was able to tame Terrorpene when I logged on. Figured I'd make a pass, and there he was. I used the Ancient Hysteria trick just before Blizzard nerfed the strategy.

As of right now, my pet is a Seagull... He's pretty cool, but I'm not sure if I wan't to keep him. Not fond of the disarm for PvE.

So until you get your rare pet (if you even want one), what's your current pet?

[Lisaara]

mine is Skoll or Chromaggus for Lisaara.

For Taluwen, its Loque'nahak or Takk the Leaper.

[Minifig]

There is no alternative to Sambas for me.

[Icharia]

Using Ghostcrawler currently. Chromaggus when I need a Hysteria. Kri when I need stam. Sometimes I bring out Huhuran to make my tank buddy angsty. Sambas is my Humar replacement as they ruined his rareness for me by adding in Pitch, so there is no alternative to Sambas and when I'm occasionally surv, he will be my pet.

[Lupis]

Until I tamed Terrorpene, I switched out between a red devilsaur, King Krush, Chromaggus, and a varying tenacity pet of some sort. Sometimes a red hellboar, sometimes my red warpstalker...

Now the line of "who gets levels" is Terrorpene > King K/Chrom. Those two are about equal.
Once I tame Sambas and Karoma, it'll probably be Terrorpene > Karoma > Sambas > King K/Chrom.

[Comett]

Unfortunately I'm very boring and despite, what, 4-5 years of having my Nightsaber stalker cat Karma there will never be a rare alternative for him. XD I love using all my pets and I'm very fond of most/all of them - My spirit beasts but particularly my Gondria (Rosemallow), and Skoll (Justice), my King Krush (Rory), my pink silthid Snuffles, and more recently my Tol Barad fox Filigree and shiny Tol'vir tiger Flint... but at the end of the day, when I just want to enjoy myself, or play the game for fun, or want a pet that I know inside out and seems to know me back, I'll always return to good old Karma. He is without fail the first pet in my call list.

On my other hunter alts though, I'm less obsessively into my pets. My nelf hunter Trophy had a blue-grey raptor from Wailing Caverns who she'll keep forever, but recently her beautiful red hyena got nerfed into an ugly mastiff so I think she'll be upgrading that model... either another hyena or a rarespawn wolf. e-e I know I can just replace the skin but I'm a little put out by that hahaha. My newbie hunter, the goblin Tezzra, will be collecting herself a colour changing raptor and then the most funky colourful out there pets she can. Definitely Krush and perhaps a wasp?

I love the pet choices we have. So much fun to pick and choose.

[Araela]

I'm alternating between my favorite, Old Cliff Jumper, and then either Karoma, Ghostcrawler, or Chromaggus at the moment.

[Slickrock]

Hmmm....

Right now, it's my red lynx, Chrommie, undead Eagle, brain-bug, and a placeholder for Terrorpene or Jadefang..

I'm about to give up on Terrorpene..