But, Starcraft, it doesn't suck for very long!

The Buddhist view is that we should have compassion for all sentient beings because every sentient being was our mother at some point.  Buddhists take the long view.

All dogs go to heaven. 

It's my own interaction with one of my dogs and other dogs that really make me see that they aren't just animals. They have their own personalities. One of my dogs is about the equivalent of an individual with Downs Syndrome but we love him all the same. The other has his own unique personality that i've never seen in another dog and I've noticed that among others. And then my cats might as well be dogs because they can be just as affectionate. The other day my step mom was walking around the neighborhood and saw a person walking their dog (which was a juvenile) and both of our cats ran up and surrounded my step mom and started hissing at the dog, as if protecting their mom. Now how many cats do that?

Then there's primates. When you have animals that can create art you have some something pretty amazing happening. Elephants too. Anyone ever see the video of the Elephant that painted with its trunk? Pretty cool stuff. Humans aren't the only unique life on the planet. Animals have a purpose too.