How Lady Gaga Is Coping After The Horrific Dog Walker Shooting Incident
On Feb. 24, 2020, Lady Gaga's dog walker Ryan Fischer was shot and two of her French bulldogs, Koji and Gustav, were stolen in a truly shocking attack. People reports the armed robbery occurred at 9:40 p.m. on Sierra Bonita Avenue in Hollywood, Calif., where Fisher was reportedly shot once. He was later taken to a nearby hospital, where he is expected to survive his injuries, according to Los Angeles Police Capt. Jonathan Tippett. He said Gaga's dog walker was walking three of her dogs at the time of the incident, but thankfully one escaped the kidnapping and was eventually found safe and sound. The other two dogs are still missing and the singer's rep has confirmed she's offering a $500,000 reward for information about them... no questions asked.
In 2020, dog thefts have been on the rise in multiple countries around the world amid the pandemic — and it looks like the attackers might have "scoped [Fisher] out in the days before to determine his walking schedule," according to TMZ. The outlet reported the shooting may have been a targeted attack as law enforcement has reason to believe Gaga's dog thieves knew the dogs belonged to the pop star and most likely knew she'd offer a ransom to get them back. Keep scrolling to find out how Gaga is coping with the dog kidnapping and why she feels completely "helpless" about the situation.
Lady Gaga considers her dogs like 'her babies'
According to Entertainment Tonight, Lady Gaga is "beside herself" following the shooting of her dog walker and the subsequent kidnapping of her beloved French bulldogs. "Ryan [Fischer] is not only her dog walker, but also her friend. She is horrified that this happened," the source explained. They added that the singer considers her dogs like "her babies" and is "completely devastated and sickened" by what happened. The insider said Gaga feels "helpless" that she's not in Los Angeles and is "doing everything she can and praying for Ryan, Koji, and Gustavo." (Gaga is in Rome, Italy, filming her new movie Gucci, per Just Jared, which focuses on the murder of fashion designer Guccio Gucci's grandson Maurizio Gucci. She's is set to play Patrizia Reggiani, Maurizio's ex-wife.)
At the time of this writing, no suspects have been named, but it's likely that Fischer put up a fight. One of his former dog-walking clients told People he "would do anything" for Gaga's dogs and must have been "absolutely trying to protect them" during the kidnapping. They added that Fischer "really took care of those dogs like they were his children" and that "he would literally lay down his life for any one of our dogs and I certainly hope that that was not the case this time."