I feel like a better solution might be to allow triggered pets as well as the pet rescue. Effectively—keep the event separate from the world, as faction events (mostly) do. That would allow the break that some people want, without also making a pet-event drought happen once a week.
Or make the event cycle through a few different pets each week—or allow people to choose between 3 to save! This would make it seem less like chump change for many, I think.
I also wonder—have potions been added to these events? I never buy tiers in the shop during pet rescues, but I imagine new players would find these days much more worthwhile if they felt the final prizes were within reach.