The abduction of Lady Gaga's dogs: 5 arrested after a violent robbery

Five people have been charged with robbery and attempted murder in the case of the theft of Lady Gaga's dogs and the shooting of her dogwalker in February 2021. Insiders suggest that the kidnappers did not know the dogs were Lady Gaga's and that they were mostly interested in these particular pooches because their breed (French bulldog) is in high demand.

The pets were returned two days after their disappearance by a woman who now also faces charges for the kidnapping. She had brought the pets to a downtown LA police station shortly after Lady Gaga announced a $500,000 (£359,000) reward for them. Along with the 'finder,' the suspects in the dognapping case are members of a known gang in Los Angeles.

Lady Gaga's dogwalker is recovering from his serious injuries. In a moving post from his hospital bed, he talked about the terror of getting shot and having the dogs under his care taken away from him by a group of armed robbers.

(Image: Instagram, Valleyofthedogs)

"4 Days ago," dogwalker Ryan Fischer recounted in late February, "while a car sped away and blood poured from my gun shot wound, an angel trotted over and laid next to me." He was referring to Lady Gaga's dog Asia, who managed to escape the kidnappers and returned to her caretaker as he was laying on the street.

Little Asia, a black French bulldog, is pictured here with Lady Gaga. "My panicked screams calmed as I looked at her," Ryan Fischer said, "even though it registered that the blood pooling around her tiny body was my own."

Fischer, here pictured with another furry friend of his, continued: "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 resolved that I would still try to save them... and myself."

(Image: Instagram, Valleyofthedogs)

Along with her dogwalker, Lady Gaga was devastated by the violent kidnapping of her French bulldogs. She pleaded to have them returned and offered a reward. Once the dogs were safe, an investigation begun into the motives of the robbers.

Lady Gaga had started the year 2021 excellently with a performance at the inauguration of President Joe Biden. A rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' which millions of people could see.

Despite the pandemic, she has been productive - not in the least as an activist and a philanthropist for COVID-19 victims and the successful Democratic presidential campaign. On a personal level, she's in a happy relationship with Michael Polansky.

The sudden loss of two of her dogs, the brown French bulldog Koji (on this photo) and his younger, white brother Gustav, came as a devastating blow. Lady Gaga often goes out for a walk with the dogs herself, but she also has staff to do some rounds with her babies for her. And that, as it turns out, is quite a dangerous job.

This is how the news media reported on the horrifying event. Lady Gaga's dog walker, reportedly named Ryan Fischer, was walking about a Hollywood neighborhood with Koji, Gustav, and one more of her dogs when two individuals came up to them. According the the LA police, they shot the dog walker with a semi-automatic weapon and took the dogs with them in a white sedan. The dog walker is in the hospital in critical condition.

Surveillance cameras show the horrible scene, in which the dog walker can be heard crying "No, no!" while he is struggling with the attackers. They restrain him and take the two dogs. One of them is the white French bulldog in this photo, and the other is the brown one at the top.

At first, Lady Gaga did not respond publicly to the attack herself. She was shooting a movie in Rome. Her representative, however, said that the pop star would offer a $500,000 reward for the return of the dogs, "no questions asked."

A little later, Lady Gaga herself sent out a message to express her sadness and anxiety about the dogs. "My heart is sick and I am praying my family will be whole again with an act of kindness," she posted on Instagram.

She also addressed the poor dogwalker who got shot: "I continue to love you Ryan Fischer, you risked your life to fight for our family. You're forever a hero."

The eldest of the two missing dogs is Koji, a light-brown French bulldog. He's been present on Lady Gaga's instagram account for years.

Koji is a stylish dog just like his mom Lady Gaga. The singer has often appeared in public with her dogs, dressed up to match her own clothes. (In this case, a sailorman's suit.)

Koji was born in 2015, and his birthday is celebrated as if he was one of the singer's children. Lady Gaga has several dogs at her Hollywood home, as well as horses, but there's always room for more.

Koji has a younger brother, Gustav. He is a also a French bulldog and he was born in 2016.

Lady Gaga herself brought Gustav home in 2016 and introduced him to the other French bulldogs, Asia and Koji.

This little dog and his brother Koji reappeared in a downtown LA police station after a few scary days.

The police say they are not certain whether the dog kidnappers knew Gustav and Koji were Lady Gaga's dogs. They may have just stolen the dogs because French bulldogs are worth thousands of dollars.

Of course, for Lady Gaga the pooches are priceless. She's a big animal lover and has always had dogs around.

Growing up in wealthy family, Stefani Germanotta (her real name) was able to surround herself with pets when she was a kid.

She is famous for cherishing her dogs on social media and in public events.

During a tour of Europe in 2014, she brought her most famous dog, the black French bulldog (Miss) Asia, along with her.

A series of pictures were shot by the media in that year, with Lady Gaga's hairstyles and outfits ever changing while the dog Asia never left her side.

Her brother Koji also drew the limelight together with the pop star.

Always by her side, Koji can be seen on Instagram sharing the singer's bed, couch, floor mat, or dinner table.

You can probably imagine how shocking this kidnapping was for Lady Gaga. She is crazy about her dogs and devastated about what happened to them. With the arrest of five suspects, the case of the near-fatal shooting of her dogwalker and the abduction of the pooches is now entering its last stage.

Read more: the life and success of Lady Gaga