It is interesting that, despite so much Darwinian Evolution inspired rejection of quaint religious superstition and dogma, that the field of biology has clung to the "humans are special" bias for so long. Claims of animal intelligence, creativity, emotions, and so forth are treated as "extraordinary claims requiring extraordinary proof". If anything, it should be the other way around (which is not to say that there are not crackpots out there who do make outlandish claims about animal mental abilities). Given our understanding of evolution we should be very suprised if we *don't* find all of our "special" human traits among other species -- it is only a matter of degree.

Adding my own anecdote: my dog shows an extraordinary ability to 'read' me from the most subtle cues. He is generally able to tell that I am about to take him for a walk long before I have done anything to intentionally signal it, like saying "walk" or picking up the leash.