
This is Kegan. And Dara, and Emmit the ram, I guess, but Mostly Kegan.
He has been my favored companion since I tamed him in my mid-30s with the help of some blood elves. He was 16 then, and was a royal pain in the ass to level. I'd never had a pet so many levels below me. He died often, whined for food more often, and generally made my leveling life painful until he finally caught up. He even once attacked the Southshore stable master in apparent revenge for me stabling him, causing me to flag for pvp in the middle of a horde Southshore raid. More than once I thought of just releasing him and going back to my black lion who was only a few levels below me, but I never quite could. The goofy creature was starting to endear himself to me. And then he finally caught up, and it felt right having him, like we were meant to be.
Since then, he has been at Dara's side through thick and thin, terrible groups and elite quests we probably shouldn't have tried soloing. He has tanked instances, tanked Cairne Bloodhoof (although only for short time after our tank died, but long enough to finish the job), rep grinds and silly holidays. There was a time when my guildies were sad when I didn't bring him along, and cheered when he arrived.
Even now that my stable is full of shiny new toys and an actual tanking pet, Kegan is still the first pet that comes to mind when I think of my hunter. He is a protective goof of a lion, and he will be with her until the end.