I would like to propose a serious solution to this perpetuated dilemma.

Owning an SnS should require a full gold audit by STS. And each time a character is found guilty of plat-THEFT and banned, that character's SnS should be put back into the loot table for crates.

This would kill 2 birds with one stone, it would rectify the injustices to the economy that most of these players created. As well as give actual legit hard-working players (not just players who claim to be) a fair chance to loot the pet, and thus remedy all discussions about who the rightful owners of the pet should be.