that of a man and a dog

[EngLearner]

I found the following sentence on this website:

The moment, as they see it, when a millennia-old alliance, that of man and dog, is renewed.

I wonder if the sentence is still correct if I modify the underlined part in one of the following ways:
1. The moment, as they see it, when a millennia-old alliance, that of a man and dog, is renewed.
2. The moment, as they see it, when a millennia-old alliance, that of a man and a dog, is renewed.

 

[jutfrank]

It depends on what you mean by 'correct'. I say no.

You'd be much better off asking why no articles are used in the sentence.

 

[EngLearner]

You'd be much better off asking why no articles are used in the sentence.

Why?

 

[jutfrank]

Well, there's a difference in meaning to be understood.

a man and a dog

The indefinite article use in the phrase above could suggest that the reference is to one individual man and one individual dog. That's obviously not what's meant in the original sentence.

man and dog

The lack of article use (it's better to say the zero article use) in the phrase above means that the reference is to a general idea. The general idea in this case is the abstract historical relationship that humans have with canines.