The claim she 'knew language' or could 'speak sentences' is obvious nonsense. But there's no doubt that animals like dogs can indeed learn hundreds of words and associate them with real-world concepts. I've seen videos where someone has a hundred different stuffed toys in another room, and they can tell the dog to get a specific item with complete reliability. So I've no doubt a dog could convey a desire for a specific object, for example. Conveying any abstract concepts, or stringing any sentences beyond a single word, I certainly haven't seen done with any objectively measurable success.