Yes, and no. He likely won't ALWAYS be in my party, and it's not quite the same when handled by another party member--or at least it wasn't in DOS 2. Having Ifan (who could talk with animals) in my party didn't feel like an adequate substitute for my character interacting and developing a personal relationship with animals that we encountered. I want Scratch to be my pet, not Halsin's. A me problem, I know, although Larian's inclusion of Animal Empathy (providing free talk with animals without having to spend talent points on Pet Pal) in one of the Gift Bags for DOS2 suggests that Larian observed a wider desire for this capability.
