French influencer Maddy Burciaga has faced backlash from animal rights group La Ligue Des Animaux after revealing she left her pet dog behind while fleeing Dubai amid the ongoing Iran war. The 32-year-old, who has 2.7 million Instagram followers, relocated to Mauritius with her family but left the dog with the family's nanny, citing the difficulty of paperwork.
The animal welfare organisation publicly condemned her actions, stating: 'A dog would never leave its human to save its own skin. Dogs are ready to go through a war just to stay with their humans. That’s the difference between loyalty… and comfort.' They accused her of not preparing to bring the dog back and called her behaviour 'superficial'.
Since the start of the 2026 Iran war on 28 February, around 1,700 missiles and drones have reportedly been fired at the United Arab Emirates. Burciaga, who runs cosmetics company Mlips Cosmetics and rose to fame on the French dating show Qui veut épouser mon fils? in 2015, previously sparked controversy by falsely claiming a partnership with the Fondation Brigitte Bardot.
Social media users were divided. One wrote: 'If she abandoned her dog, it means she never loved it in the first place.' Another said: 'She went on holiday, she didn’t leave for good!' A third noted: 'It’s her husband’s dog too… Shining all the spotlight solely on her isn’t very fair.'
Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai and Due Process International, commented online: 'Expats and investors are increasingly worried about a downturn in Dubai as war fears and censorship warnings collide. The 2009 crash saw residents flee leaving luxury cars at the airport. Today some are leaving their pets behind.'
