I actually saw a firefighter do that for a dog once. The dog seemed to know he was helping. Mind blowing.
Doesn't surprise me. One of the best episodes of "Pit Bulls and Parolees" was where Tia took a Pit Bull pup to a home visit where they had an adult female Pit. The female didn't want to have anything to do with the pup, and kept avoiding him. Until the pup accidentally wandered into a fire ant hole! Tia scooped up the poor animal and doused him in the swimming pool to get the ants off, but the pup was full of bites - he was crying in pain. The adult female immediately ran to the pup, and from that moment on, the bond was set. It was amazing to watch.
Animals are amazing creatures, with a capacity to love.