I believe animals experience consciousness similar to humans, even if their thought processes may not be as complex.
Consciousness is as big of a mystery as time is. I think they are intertwined.
I think even the laws of physics are really just descriptions of the rules of consciousness. Our consciousness processes our experiences according to these rules. This, in turn, creates a mental map of the universe as we have collectively experienced it. But the physical universe is not the fundamental reality. It is simply how we perceive reality from experience.
This includes time.