Yeah, me too. "Dumb" animals? Not really.. some are smarter than others, though.
I'm sure you know better than most, animals have every emotion that people do.
How they recognize you, trust those that they know, and have shown them they CAN be trusted.
How they can be depressed over loss of a friend, happy when they see you are happy.
I've never regretted a moment I've spent with my 4 legged friends (sometimes only 3
)
I can't say the same for some people I've known though