After the henchmen were added to the game, when a pet appeared in a fight, a little label appeared saying something like "Little Peanut hired" or whatever the pet's name was. I still see the game listing pets as being hired. Is that a bug or a new format to show they joined? If it was decided to have an indication a pet joined, I'd rather it said the pet joined rather than was hired. You never know, maybe henchpets might be added to the crown shop in the future.
I haven't seen it recently, but when the henchmen were first added to the game, battleboard obstacles and hazards were also shown in a "hired" notation at the start of a fight. "Spike trap hired." "Bonfire hired." "Fire trap hired." How funny is that?

One-Eyed Jack on Sep 7, 2013 wrote:

Thanks for your report. We have noticed these strange messages too. It's definitely a bug and will be fixed.

(. . . and we're certainly glad the obstacles work for free. )

My pets work for treats and belly rubs.