Quote Originally Posted by Grey Watcher View Post
In English at least, the use of "it" versus "he" or "she" gets a bit fuzzy (heh) with animals. Generally, if the animal is one that's familiar or important to the speaker (a pet, a service animal, sometimes farm animals, especially on smaller, non-factory farms), they'll use "he" or "she". If not, "it" gets used because apathy.

Of course, this being English, these are loose guidelines at best.
Bold of you to assume that the word "guidelines" has anything to do with English.