That's sad, I wrote a paper on animal intelligence in college and I used Koko and this amazingly smart chimp that lived with Jane Goodall. The chimp would go to the refrigerator and get a coke, open it up, go sit on the couch and turn the tv on while flipping through a magazine. Dressed in coveralls. And she said she remembers always thinking how much like us they really are.
Koko was something else. I remember when Koko's cat died, she was really sad and told them so. I think they got her another cat after a while. But there was strong emotion there.
Even with my cat and dog, I'm with 'em all day and I see intelligent behavior in them. They obviously see the world different, and can't speak the language, but my dog literally whimpers and whines and looks and wags to give me "hot or cold" cues to get what he wants; I swear he's trying to speak but just can't and so loud aggravated whimpers and whines come out instead. The cat has her ways to but is generally more independent than the dog. I think the cat is smarter though. Hate to say it, but I think it's true.
