It is such a cross with proverbs. When we hear them for the first time, we often think they are the work of the person who uttered them. In fact, the wise words are often attributed to a well-known person with great vision. This person has usually been dead for quite a long time.
Sometimes the convictions as to who said it first diverge quite a bit. That is also the case with this quote:
"That the dog is dearest to me, sayest thou, O man, is sin? The dog remained faithful to me in the storm, the man not even in the wind".
Francis of Assisi is said to have said it. He is said to have said it mainly because it is written so on the Internet. And as we all know, there is one thing people do there: copy each other's words.
A look at the original sources, the actual medieval texts, however, provides no indication that Francis of Assisi said such a thing in the Middle Ages. Nor does it really fit the time. In addition, Francis, as he was also called, was Italian and his quotations are preserved in Latin. So if he really had exalted the dog above the man, it should be possible to find that. The result, the rhyme "winds" and "sin", would then have to have been translated by someone rather clever.
Some, however, have identified the philosopher Arthur Shopenhauer as the author. Anyone who knows who Shopenhauer was could well imagine that. Arthur Schopenhauer was a great dog lover and somewhat, shall we say, eccentric. But he was also a great thinker, just not a poet.
So who said it? We don't know either. But it doesn't matter, let's just go out and play with the dog.