Lady Gaga’s dogs found safe and well after being stolen at gunpoint
The singer offered a $500,000 reward for their safe return.
27th Feb 2021
Lady Gaga’s two French bulldogs have been found safe and unharmed after being stolen at gunpoint, police in Los Angeles said.
The safe return of Koji and Gustav came hours after Gaga, who was filming a movie in Rome when her pets were taken on Wednesday night, issued a plea on social media for “an act of kindness” to bring them home.
A woman who authorities have not publicly identified brought the dogs to an LAPD station unharmed, and they were turned over to the musician’s representatives, according to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.
The woman who dropped off the dogs appears to be ”uninvolved and unassociated” with the robbery, according to the police.
Two men reportedly shot Lady Gaga’s professional dog-walker and bodyguard, Ryan Fischer, four times in the chest and then stole two of the singer’s three French bulldogs.
One of the male suspects fired a semi-automatic handgun at the dog-walker in Los Angles, who was found alive but in critical condition and “barely breathing”.
He managed to stay alive until an ambulance arrived while the suspects fled the scene after the assault.
The singer heaped praise on Fischer for risking his “life to fight for our family,” adding: “You’re forever a hero.”
The assailant or assailants (reports are conflicted as to whether there was one or two involved) has not yet been caught.
Fischer was rushed to hospital but thankfully – and miraculously – is expected to make a full recovery.
A source told CNN added that Fischer is “recovering well” and is expected to make a full recovery.
Gaga is currently working on a film titled Gucci in Rome, Italy and was “extremely upset,” at the incident, offered a $500,000 reward for the safe return of Koji and Gustav, “no questions” asked, according to TMZ. Her third dog, Asia, managed to escape and is now with a member of Lady Gaga’s team.
VIDEO: Lady Gaga’s dog Asia gets rescued by the LAPD. pic.twitter.com/NRTQV4s2je
— Little Monsters Community (@ladygaganowco) February 25, 2021
The dogs frequently travel with the pop star and have even been photographed with her in different magazine shoots.
It is as yet unclear whether the suspect(s) knew that the dogs belonged to the A Star is Born actress or simply because French Bulldogs are expensive and in high demand.
The BBC reports there have been several cases, around the United States, sometimes involving violent assaults on their owners, where their dogs have been stolen.
In January, it was reported that a woman in San Francisco was attacked at gunpoint by three men who escaped with her five-month-old puppy.