"Oh, absolutely! Animals are conscious beings, and many of them have quite a bit of intelligence. They certainly have feelings." Any Elf will tell you that.

He smiles at the sight of Reigen petting the bird and blinking to keep back a tear or two.

And then he glances again in the direction the cry for help came from and says, "We should get going. Want to take Nugget-chan with us, or tell her to follow the goats?"