A pet that is linked to it's master (who is a non-NPC or player character) is an extension of it's master so to speak. That said, it is the same as a player character and cannot be honored. That is the reasoning why you received the message you did. You just have to think of it as another player character.
In other games, the pets are an extension of the player as well. Some games when the pet is commanded by the player to attack another player, if the pet kills the player then the pet receives the death count. Not the player though, interestingly enough. Hope that helps.
