File Photo
The dog walker who was shot by thieves as he walked Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs expressed gratitude to family, friends, first responders and health care workers after his ‘very close call with death.’
In an emotional Instagram post from his hospital bed, Ryan Fischer recalled the frightening moments after Wednesday’s shooting in Hollywood. He said he is recovering with support from family, friends and other people who have shared well wishes.
“I am still in recovery from a very close call with death,” Fischer said in the post. “…The gratitude for all the love I feel from around this planet is immense and intense.
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“First responders and health care workers: you literally saved my life and helped me take newborn walks. I can’t thank you enough.”
Fischer was shot once as he walked three of the Grammy-winning singer’s dogs in Hollywood.
Video showed a white sedan pulling up and two men jumping out. They struggled with the dog walker before one pulled a gun and fired a single shot before fleeing with two of the dogs. The third escaped.
In his post, Fischer said the dog returned to his side as he was on the ground the car sped away.
“An angel trotted over and laid next to me,” he said. “My panicked screams calmed as I look at her, even though it registered that the blood pooling around her tiny body was my own. I cradled Asia as best I could, thanked her for all the incredible adventures we’d been on together, apologized that I couldn’t defend her brothers, and then resoled that I would still try to save them… and myself.”
Nearby residents came to Fischer’s aid and called 911.
The two stolen French bulldogs were recovered unharmed Friday, Los Angeles police said. A woman brought the dogs to the LAPD’s Olympic Community Police Station, just northwest of downtown, around 6 p.m, said Capt. Jonathan Tippet, commanding officer of the department’s elite Robbery-Homicide Division.
Lady Gaga’s representative and detectives went to the station and confirmed that they were the dogs, Tippet said.
The singer has been in Rome to film a movie.
“I continue to love you Ryan Fischer, you risked your life to fight for our family. You’re forever a hero,” Lady Gaga said in an Instagram post.
The woman who dropped off the dogs appears to be “uninvolved and unassociated” with Wednesday night’s attack, Tippet said. In a tweet Friday night, the LAPD said the woman had found the dogs “and reached out to Lady Gaga’s staff to return them.”
Her identity and the location where the dogs were found won’t be disclosed for her safety and because of the ongoing investigation, the LAPD said.
Lady Gaga on Friday repeated her offer of a $500,000 reward for the return of her dogs — whose names are Koji and Gustav — with no questions asked. Tippet said since police were not involved in the reward, he did not know if the woman would receive it.
