Lady Gaga’s pets snatched off street as dog-walker shot
Hollywood has been left stunned by an armed dognapping in which two of Lady Gaga’s pets were stolen, and her dog walker shot.
The devastated singer immediately offered US$500,000 with “no questions asked” for the return of her French bulldogs.
Three of the singer’s dogs — Koji, Gustavo and Miss Asia — were being exercised by a family friend when he was attacked on Wednesday night near Sunset Boulevard.
He was shot with a semi-automatic handgun as Koji and Gustavo were bundled into a white car, while Miss Asia escaped.
The dog walker, named by U.S. media as Ryan Fischer, 30, was seen desperately clinging on to Miss Asia as he lay on the ground in a pool of blood with paramedics surrounding him.
Last night, graphic footage emerged from a nearby security camera. It showed two men jumping out of the back seat of a car, cocking a gun and shouting “Give it up!”
Fischer was holding one of the dogs and fought to keep it, screaming “Help me!” As he struggled with one man, the other shot him.
He shouted: “I’ve been shot. Oh my God. I’m bleeding out, my heart, my lung, I’m bleeding out of my chest.”
He was taken to Cedarssinai hospital, where police said his condition was “unknown” but an aide to Lady Gaga said he was “recovering well.”
Joe Germanotta, the star’s father, who lives in New York, said: “Our whole family is upset and praying Koji and Gustavo are not harmed. Help us catch these creeps. We’re just sick over it, it’s really horrible. It’s like someone took one of your kids.”
He said Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, had spoken to the dog walker in hospital.
Lady Victoria Hervey, the British socialite, who lives in Los Angeles, said: “Gaga’s dogs being dognapped is so scary. I got the alert last night of a dog owner shot on my Citizen app. Wow just Wow. LA has got so dangerous.”
The dogs were being walked along North Sierra Bonita Avenue, a palm-treelined residential street just off Sunset Boulevard. A getaway car fled north toward Hollywood Boulevard, a few blocks away. The scene of the crime was close to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and less than a mile from the Dolby Theatre where the Oscars are held. In 2019 Lady Gaga received her Oscar there for best original song in the 2018 film A Star Is Born.
Police said they believed two assailants carried out the attack. In a 911 call a dispatcher could be heard saying “caller heard one gunshot” and that there was “screaming.” The dispatcher said: “One male down. Male conscious and breathing, suffering from a gunshot wound.” She added that “two small dogs” had been taken.
It was unclear if the attackers knew the valuable French bulldogs, which can sell for thousands of dollars, belonged to the star. There have been other recent thefts of French bulldogs reported in Los Angeles.
At the time of the attack Gaga was in Rome working on Ridley Scott’s film Gucci, about the fashion dynasty.
Soon after being informed, she issued an email address — Kojiandgustav@ gmail.com — for anyone with information and offered a US$500,000 reward. The singer’s aides described her as “extremely upset.”
Her dogs are well-known to her fans and she often posts photographs of them on social media. Last March she posted pictures of herself with her dogs to encourage people to keep safe during the pandemic.