Why do christians, like no chance without jesus say that animals don't have emotions and only have instinct?

I am religious, and I worked for years in animal rescue. I realize that I'm likely being all sentimental and am also guilty of anthropomorphizing, but after working with dogs for as many years as I have, I do feel that they're capable of a rather wide emotional range. That is merely my personal opinion, and is not necessarily supported by scientific research. I've just dealt with too many dogs who came out of too many abusive situations to not give them credit for having feelings.