Dogs have empathy?

Dogs sad when owners sad?

I know the article says that there is no conclusive evidence that shows for sure that they do feel empathy, they're just going off their own study. Pretty interesting note is that  it could be sort of a learned behavior from the Dogs owner.

So either a dog is realizing how you feel and wants to comfort you. Or the dog grasps the concept of comfort because of an owner showing affection to them when they're upset. So whether or not the dog initially knows what sadness is, they learn to recognize the emotion and what to do in that situation. If the dog learns it from their owner, and mimics the behavior, does that suggest that when you comfort a dog when he/she is upset it makes them feel better? So in turn, when they do it to you they want to make you feel better? I would like to believe so.

I really love animals, and what I love about most house pets is this, especially about Dogs and Cats is that they'll love you unconditionally. These animals are free from judgment, they don't care who you are, what gender you are, sexual orientation, what you look like, etc. To me this is a greatest trait a living thing could have in this world. They love you and want to be around you when you're home, they miss you when you're gone.

Animals clearly have feelings and they love, they feel sad, mad, etc. So I'd like to think there is a bit of a deeper understanding of an emotion when it comes to a Dog or any other animal.