Can pets read human emotions?

I had a very rough week last week. I was talking on the phone, sitting on my bed with Prissy. During my conversation, I began to cry pretty hard. Prissy immediately jumped up, looked around at me very alarmed. She started whimpering and whining. She came up to me, got right in my face and started licking my tears. She was gently tapping my face with her paw. She was being so sweet. She knew mommy was sad :-( She was trying to cheer me up and make me feel better. Sometimes dogs can offer better comfort to you than some humans!