That "horror-struck look" doesn't mean "I suddenly realized I don't love my pet as much as I would an actual human child." It means "what the fuck is wrong with this guy, and how can I stop talking to him as quickly as possible?"
I mean, we eat cows and pigs, and all sorts of other animals. What makes cats or dogs particularly special, other than being cuter and perhaps a little more social? It seems for these people arguing their animals are to be as revered as human beings are, they would also have to be vegan, which most are not.
No, I don't. You're searching for some total order ranking function where there isn't one. People love who they love and a lot of that is based on proximity and shared experience. I demonstrably care more about my dog than I do any random child in the third world, as demonstrated by the fact that I fed my dog this morning and I haven't donated to a feed-a-child-in-the-third-world charity today. By your logic, since humans rank higher than dogs, am I morally obligated to exhaust my financial resources helping needy humans before I can take care of my dog?
Or, to be more obvious, it'd be like asking a happily married person if they really thought they picked the best person or if they just settled for the best they could get.
"I love my mom!"
"Would you die to save her?"
Another potentially interesting moral quandary that is pretty rude to ask some random stranger who is just trying to make conversation.
"I love god!"
"What makes you think god is real?" no no no please stop just smile and nod and let everyone get on with their day