The strange and violent dognapping of Lady Gaga’s prized pets took a swing toward the positive on Saturday. The Associated Press reported that the singer and actress’s two French bulldogs, Koji and Gustav, are back in safe custody. They were returned on Friday evening by a woman who police said was “uninvolved and unassociated” with Wednesday’s shooting and theft.
Capt. Jonathan Tippet of the Los Angeles Robbery-Homicide Division said the woman’s name will not be revealed due to the case’s ongoing nature, and also had no information concerning the $500,000 reward that Lady Gaga had offered for the return of her canines with “no questions asked.” (The police department will not be involved in any reward transaction, Tippet said.)
Wednesday’s attack left Lady Gaga’s dog walker and personal friend Ryan Fischer with four gunshot wounds to the chest. He is reportedly doing well and is expected to make a full recovery.
Fischer held on to a third dog, Miss Asia, as he was bleeding on a West Hollywood sidewalk. As the thieves made off with the other two dogs, Asia escaped and was later found and returned. The attackers did not steal Fischer’s wallet. Video of the traumatic attack is online, but we’re not posting it here.
Fischer’s love of animals can be seen on the very entertaining Instagram account Valley of the Dogs.
According to AllThingsDogs.com, French bulldogs are the fourth most popular breed in the world, having gained significant traction in the last decade, though they are notoriously expensive. One such pooch, Micro Machine, sells its semen for $5,000 per sample.
Lady Gaga is currently in Italy, shooting the film Gucci with Ridley Scott, in which she plays the role of Patrizia Reggiani.
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