The bug
Pets don't disconnect when their owners log off and can be killed by other players.
Meaning they should disappear and reappear just like their owners do to not get harmed or bugged by chunks being unloaded or mad players. Jeb also confirm this as a bug during Minecon 2012, as seen here (unfortunately this video is not available anymore).
Related issues
is duplicated by
Comments
migrated
migrated
Another bug is that users can currently redye dogs even if they don't own them. That would be fixed if this was implemented, however.
galaxy_2alex
Is this still a concern in the current Minecraft version? If so, please update the affected versions in order to best aid Mojang ensuring bugs are still valid in the latest releases/pre-releases. If this has been done, we can reopen the issue.
Keep in mind that the "Resolved"-Status on this ticket just means "Answered", and that we are waiting for further information on whether this issue still exists or not. We will reopen it as soon as the requested information has been deliviered.
migrated
No response for over a year.
slicedlime
Pets are inhabitants of the world, not players. They do not vanish when players do.
Confirmed as a bug as per overwhelming video evidence 🙂