That's probably the dumbest thing I have ever heard. 
It's interesting that you should say that when it comes from someone far more intelligent and learned than yourself.
Humans are better than animals. I don't see animals reasoning, inventing, or using complex methods to communicate. And when you say you met dogs that are more intelligent than humans, you don't mean mentally ill humans, do you? And it probably sounds like I am belittling your opinion -- that's because I am.
Look at human tribes scattered throughout the world. Even presently, with massive globalization, there are colonies of humans to be found in the north that barely know the meaning of fire. We are certainly designed in such a way that makes it easier for us as a species to develop tools, sophisticated language, and so on. But as you may be able to figure out from my comment on human tribes, we have also been lucky.
I have worked in the SPCA for 6 years, particularly with wolf dog breeds, and have also studied killer whales rather carefully. Most pure wolf dogs are far more aware of their surroundings and capable of responding to them than humans are. They are also faster at learning many skills than the average or even "gifted" human: hunting, recognition (voice, appearance, etc), prudent "crisis" or (urgent) decision making (for example, in those "fight or flight" situations). Incidentally, in reputable academic journals (e.g. american journal of psychology), the average dog's overall learning capacity (not even singling out wolf dogs or german shepards) has been shown to be roughly equivalent to an average human 10 year old's.
However, they are intrinsically more gifted than most humans at certain tasks used to measure intelligence (as I've said above).
Further, whales have incredibly sophisticated mechanisms for communication and hunting. They have built in sonar, and can interpret the position of an obstacle more than 500 feet away through perspicaciously sending out
clicks at frequencies of their own discretion.
Statements like "humans are
better than animals," are extremely ignorant and arrogant. In what way are we better? We're better because we're human?
I can usually tell rather quickly when someone is speaking out of arrogance and not consideration. It's something most of us humans tend to do -- I guess one of
many problems with the
human condition.
By the way, judging from the tone of your reply, I'm guessing you're religious. Aside from this thread, I have no data to back that up. You just seem conditioned in one way or another to talk the way you do when you obviously know very little about what you're saying. Am I right? I am not condemning you for being religious if you are, I'm just quite curious if my guess is correct.
(Aside): I don't think a predator is "necessarily" more intelligent than his prey. Consider great white sharks and dolphins, for example.
Since we are human, and naturally would love to think of ourselves as "special," we tend to lose sight of how closely we are connected to other mammals (thinking about SSU RNA or DNA, or simply by looking at a phylogenetic tree). Our blueprint, or "prototype" is
very close to the design of some other particular animals, so the notion that we are so much different as a species is delusional from a scientific (rational) standpoint.
