Being attacked and having your dogs stolen from you is not the sort of thing most of us have to worry about when we step outside with our pups, but on Wednesday night, that’s exactly what happened to Lady Gaga’s dog walker.
Lady Gaga has been in Rome, Italy, working on a Ridley Scott movie, and while she’s away Ryan Fischer has been caring for her three spoiled French bulldogs.
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At around 10 p.m. Wednesday night, Fischer took the three dogs — Miss Asia, Koji and Gustav — out for a walk near his residence in West Hollywood. While he walked the three, at least one man approached him and opened fire.
Fischer was shot in the chest at least once and two of the bulldogs, Koji and Gustav, were taken. Miss Asia ran off but was later recovered, according to TMZ.
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A video taken following the incident showed a man lying on the ground, cradling the black French bulldog as first responders attended to him. He was reportedly coherent and able to communicate clearly with those attending to him.
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According to CNN, Fischer was stable when taken to the hospital, and a source close to Lady Gaga has confirmed that the dog walker is “recovering well.”
The suspect was reported to have used a semi-automatic handgun and was driving a white sedan. More than one person may have been involved.
“Last night at around 9:40 pm a shooting took place in the 1500 block of North Sierra Bonita Avenue,” Los Angeles Police Department public information officer Jeff Lee told Fox News. “The male unknown suspect fired a gunshot from an unknown location striking the 30-year-old male white victim.”
Police are unsure whether the thief was specifically targeting Lady Gaga’s dogs or whether he went after them simply because French bulldogs are a very popular and expensive breed that regularly sells for thousands of dollars.
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Lady Gaga is reportedly distraught and is offering a massive reward for the safe return of her two pups.
One source told CNN that Gaga is “offering half-a-million dollars to anyone who has her two dogs, no questions asked. Anyone who has the dogs can use this email, KojiandGustav@gmail.com to retrieve the reward.”
Joe Germanotta, Lady Gaga’s father, told Fox News that the dog walker is “a friend” of the family and that he is “so upset right now.”
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“Our whole family is upset and praying Koji and Gustavo are not harmed,” he continued. “Shooting someone in order to steal dogs is wrong … help us catch these creeps.”
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