In the full game there certainly will be more content and xp for Pet Pal, even if there isn't much in the Alpha.
Perhaps Pet Pal could be a reward for some sort of quest? Like, in Fort Joy you find a... mystical... rat, or something, and you have to do a thing for it, like, free it from a cage, or bring it some cheese. I don't know. Some sort of quest where you help an animal, and boom, the first person to do that gets a permanent Pet Pal talent that doesn't take away from available talent points.
It prevents you from having to waste a talent on a character with the bonus effect of adding a bit more competition to multiplayer. Multiplayer needs more non-xp rewards that are up for grabs if they truly want it to be competitive anyway.
