On a crowded street in Luxembourg City, a dog lies silently on a blanket beside its owner – a scene most passersby barely notice. Yet former animal welfare inspector Tess Martin warns this casual sight may conceal a darker reality: exploitation.
After connecting with Tiago Rodrigues on social media, the two launched a formal petition calling for stricter regulations or even a ban on selected beggars from keeping dogs, amid concerns that some animals are exploited, neglected, or even drugged to attract sympathy. Rodrigues, known for his engagement in political and social causes, carried out his own independent research before joining the effort.
Born and raised in Luxembourg, Martin spent over a decade handling animal abuse cases in Luxembourg. In her early twenties, she began volunteering at a local shelter in Gasperich while holding down a full time job. “I had youth, energy, and passion that fuelled me”, she says of managing both responsibilities.
She initially performed simple tasks like walking dogs before pushing for bigger responsibilities at the shelter. She was eventually entrusted with handling complaints, becoming one of the few people regularly sent out to investigate cases of potential animal abuse.
“I always had animal welfare at heart, even as a little girl”, she recalls. “When I saw something that wasn’t right, I couldn’t just turn away.”
Before the age of social media, complaints arrived by phone or handwritten notes and Martin was responsible for following up on each one. She handled around 60 cases a year, but with follow-ups, her visits often exceeded 300.
Martin emphasises that her employer was supportive, allowing her flexibility to step away for emergencies: “Sometimes I’d leave the office at 3pm and return at 5pm to finish my work”, she recalls.
Much of Martin’s work involved entering unpredictable and at times hostile environments, where projecting authority was essential. She remembers dealing with aggressive individuals, particularly in cases involving neglect or abuse. She often worked alone, relying on instinct, persistence, and quick thinking to handle dangerous situations.
While eight months pregnant, Martin went to inspect a house in Pfaffenthal. She discovered two dogs chained outside and several rabbits caged in poor conditions.
The man who answered, smelling of alcohol, aggressively approached her. In her words, “it appeared he wanted me to fall off the steps behind me”. Terrified, she stayed outwardly calm, following her mantra: “You must appear confident. Fear gives them power over you.” Years later, the memory of that event still haunts her.
Yet the physical risks were only one aspect of the job. One case involved a young dachshund found chained in a backyard shed in Gasperich, severely malnourished and close to death. “He was just bones and skin”, sitting in the corner, on the verge of dying. After convincing the owner to surrender the dog, Martin nursed him back to health at home before placing him with a new family.
Martin’s investigation later revealed that the dogs had been collected by a couple who took them from owners unable to care for them. The animals were kept together in a backyard in appalling conditions. She suspects that some were sold on to trafficking networks, potentially for dogfighting or even laboratories.
The case went to court, where the couple were fined and banned from keeping animals for merely five years. Based on months of research by Martin, this was one of the first cases of its kind to reach court.
Another incident involved a pregnant Saint Bernard that was tethered to a 2.5-metre chain in filthy, underfed and isolated conditions.
Not everyone could cope. She says she witnessed several volunteers quit after only a handful of cases, unable to handle the emotional toll.
Asked what drives such abuse, Martin is cautious not to generalise but points to recurring patterns. “Poverty and lack of education can push people into illegal breeding to resell dogs”, she explains. “Animals can also become outlets for frustration and anger – a result of cycles of hopelessness.”
She once helped rescue eight dogs and around twenty cats from a single house not far from her own. Despite the difficulties, she says that it was “more important to help than to turn the other way”.
Martin often received anonymous complaints from neighbours fearful of retaliation. “We always kept their identity hidden”, she says, urging the public to report abuse.
Asked how she gained access to houses hiding abused animals, Martin, using the alias Sandra Schumacher, says she took a direct and blunt approach. “I told them I was the nicest link in the chain, noncompliance would lead to escalation.”
In contrast to the above, a case in Muhlenbach involved an older couple whose dog lacked basic care. Martin guided them on nutrition, exercise and grooming, and with multiple follow up visits, the dog began thriving.
Like many owners she encountered, their neglect was unintentional and stemming from a lack of knowledge about proper pet care – making it a rare but positive outcome.
Martin stepped away from animal welfare in 2006 to focus on family and health. Years later in 2025 repeated encounters with beggars accompanied by dogs in the city drew her back into the cause she once left behind.
Asked how to distinguish an exploited dog from a begging network from one belonging to a homeless person, Martin noted, the difference is often visible in the dog’s condition and behaviour. These dogs, as she describes, remain motionless, show little response to their surroundings, and are possibly drugged. “They are not pets but tools for organised beggars”, she adds.
Additional warning signs include a lack of access to drinking water, poor physical condition and, in some cases, a willingness to sell the animal. “A legitimate pet owner would refuse outright”, she says. By contrast, those using dogs for begging may ask how much someone is willing to pay for the animal. Motivated by these observations, Martin decided to act.
Martin began with a social media post to raise awareness. The post connected Martin to Tiago Rodrigues and together they launched a petition that has already collected 6,357 verified signatures, surpassing the required threshold and securing a debate in parliament.
The petition, however, touches on a complex issue. Not all individuals begging with dogs are part of organised networks, and for some, the animals provide genuine companionship.
Despite the challenges, she continues her fight, advocating for a system that blocks begging networks from exploiting dogs.
As the petition gains traction, the debate over animal welfare and social vulnerability in Luxembourg is intensifying. For Martin, the objective is clear, even if the solution is not. “Acknowledging a sad reality isn’t enough; real change requires action”, she concludes.
