Lady Gaga’s dog walker shot, Frenchies stolen
Lady Gaga’s dog walker was shot and two of the singer’s French bulldogs were stolen in Hollywood during an armed robbery, police said. The singer is offering a $500,000 reward.
The dog walker was shot once Wednesday night and is expected to survive his injuries, according to Los Angeles Police Capt. Jonathan Tippett, commanding officer of the department’s elite Robbery-Homicide Division. The man was walking three of Lady Gaga’s dogs at the time but one escaped. That dog has been recovered safely.
Tippett told The Associated Press that the dogs belong to pop star Lady Gaga. It’s not yet clear if the dog walker was targeted because of his celebrity client, the captain said.
Lady Gaga is offering the reward for the return of her dogs — whose names are Koji and Gustav — with no questions asked, according to her representative. An email address for tips, KojiandGustav@gmail.com, has been set up. The singer is currently in Rome to film a movie.
Police were initially called to North Sierra Bonita Avenue, a street off the famed Sunset Boulevard, around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday following several 911 calls reporting a man screaming and the sound of a gunshot, said Capt. Steven Lurie, commanding officer of the department’s Hollywood Division.
The victim, whose name has not been released, was walking the dogs when a four-door sedan pulled over and two men tried to steal the animals, Tippett said.
The dog walker tried to fight them off and was shot by one of the men wielding a semiautomatic handgun during the struggle. It’s not yet known if both men were armed.
The New York Post showed horrifying home surveillance video that captured the moment Lady Gaga’s dog walker was shot. The footage, obtained by TMZ, caught the dog walker strolling with the pooches and the assailants yelling “Give it up!”
“No! Help me!” screamed the dog walker.
When the dog walker refused to let go of the dogs, the Post added, one of his attackers raised a semiautomatic handgun and fired a single shot, leaving the man splayed out on the sidewalk as the duo grabbed two of Gaga’s three dogs, Gustav and Koji, and fled in the car.
The victim clung to the third dog, Miss Asia, as he writhed on the ground, wailing in agony.
French bulldogs can cost thousands of dollars.