Photo: Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock
So tragic.
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Feb 25, 2021
Lady Gaga is a woman who, by now, needs no introduction. She is, indeed, very much a modern legend.
That doesn't mean that she's not human like the rest of us — and, like the rest of us, she can be the victim of a crime.
And that's exactly what just happened to the "Born This Way" singer on Feb. 24.
Here's what we know about the horrific Lady Gaga dognapping incident so far.
We hope everyone — both two- and four-legged — are okay, and safely found, very soon!
Her dog-walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot on February 24, 2021.
On Wednesday night, February 24, 2021, Lady Gaga's dog-walker Ryan Fischer was shot in the chest while walking her three dogs in Los Angeles, California. As of this writing, his condition is unknown, but he was transported to the hospital immediately.
Two of the French Bulldogs were stolen — but the third ran away and was later found.
After Fischer was shot, the suspect — who was last seen in a white vehicle heading from North Sierra Bonita Avenue towards Hollywood Boulevard — stole two of Lady Gaga's French Bulldogs, named Koji and Gustavo.
The third Frenchie, named Miss Asia, quickly ran away and was later found by the police. When Miss Asia was found, she was immediately returned to Lady Gaga.
Lady Gaga is offering a $500,000 reward for the return of the dogs.
Lady Gaga is currently in Italy, so she was unharmed in the attack.
While it's unclear if her dogs were specifically targeted, what is clear is that she loves the dogs, and is offering a $500,000 "no questions asked" return for Koji and Gustavo.
French Bulldogs are one of the most popular dog breeds in the United States today.
According to the American Kennel Club, French Bulldogs are the fourth-most popular dog breed in the United States today. They're behind the Labrador retriever, golden retriever, and German Shepherd as the most popular dog breed.
But they're also the easiest to steal.
Because French Bulldogs are in such high demand, and because they're so small, they're easy to steal.
"The motive is resale. Thieves know they can get a couple of thousand dollars for them," said Tara Bruno, founder of SNORT Rescue, an organization that rescues bulldogs, pugs, and Boston terriers, to People Magazine.
Bruno also said that people also steal French Bulldogs with no malicious intent simply because they can't afford them — a reputable "Frenchie" breeder can get up to $5,000 per dog.
Social media swiftly reacted to the news — and people are outraged.
Naturally, the minute the news was made public, Lady Gaga became a top Twitter trending topic, and social media's reaction to the dognappings is unanimous: what the thieves did was both outrageous and hateful.
Check out some of the top reactions below.
We hope that Ryan Fischer recovers swiftly from his injuries, and that Lady Gaga's Frenchies are found safe and sound!
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, photographer, and publicist whose work has been featured in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more.