I’ve seen dogs comfort their owners when they’re suffering, and of course showing their empathy in other ways.
Odds are dogs are so used to seeing humans as the food giver that they can’t fathom humans needing their charity.
Absolutely, I can testify to that. When I ruptured a disk in my back, my German Shepherd was there for me, gently resting his chin on my hip while I was lying in bed dying, or so it seemed to me, lol. He was definitely trying to comfort me. I never saw him act like that before or after.