Sure, but the idea that animal cognition is radically different or lesser than ours is itself an assumptive default that science is comfortable making. We should question that as the default assumption.

As a pet owner, I find it absolutely ridiculous and insulting that animals intelligence is assumed to be so low. My firsthand experience is that there is a lot more intelligence there than people generally give them credit for, even if science hasn't delineated every single aspect of it yet. As scientists keep confirming these "discoveries", I think the default assumption (and language) should shift to assuming more similarity than differences unless proven otherwise.