This is a story - likely from the mid seventies - that I read (maybe even have) in an anthology paperback. The premise is that humanity is threatened by a malevolent alien race. A military (?) space ship investigates an alien planet. On board is a crew member and his very friendly dog - a big dog but I don't remember the breed.
During the exploration, the dog wanders off to investigate the smells of the planet's flora & fauna. The crew is unexpectedly confronted with the imminent landing of an alien ship - suspected to be the malevolent alien species. They leave suddenly, leaving the lost dog at the mercy of the alien species.
Fortunately the ship that lands is not the malevolent aliens but in fact yet another species also being threatened by the invaders. The other "good guys" find the dog and probe its "thoughts" and discover the close and deep relationship between humans and dogs. Instead of pursuing and destroying the humans, they make contact and align with humans to defeat the malevolent invaders. They then erect a statue of the dog on both (?) worlds.
Can anyone point me to the author/title?
