Happy ending for Lady Gaga, Koji and Gustav: two days after a brutal attack on the singer's dog sitter, the stolen animals are back. The pop star can breathe a sigh of relief, but after the headline-grabbing attack there are still many questions unanswered. The search for the perpetrators continued over the weekend. The finder of the two dogs could be richly rewarded.
Image: APA (AFP)
The Hollywood-style drama with a loud shot, screaming and dog howling, recorded by a surveillance camera in the neighborhood, took place on Wednesday evening (local time). Lady Gaga, meanwhile, was filming in Rome when her dog sitter was walking the singer's three French Bulldogs in Hollywood.
Suddenly a car stops in the dark, two men jump out. By force of arms they demand the surrender of the dogs. The dog sitter fights back, yells for help. Then a shot is fired and the man goes down. The thieves escape with two dogs, the third animal runs towards the injured man. The Internet service “TMZ.com” posted the video from a surveillance camera on a house showing the brutal attack. The police speak of two suspects between the ages of 20 and 25.
Lady Gaga turns “deadly sad” to the public. “I pray that my family will be complete again through an act of kindness,” the star wrote on Instagram on Friday. She also posted eight photos of her beloved dogs, on the beach, on walks, lying on the sofa. Your dogwalker, Ryan Fischer, is a “hero”, emphasizes the singer. He risked his life fighting for their dogs.
Immediately comforting words arrive from her more than 46 million Instagram followers, including actresses Kate Hudson and Glenn Close. Singer Tony Bennett sent her “Love and best wishes for Ryan's recovery and the safe return of Koji and Gustav”.
On Friday evening (local time) the redeeming news: a woman found the two missing dogs and handed them over to a police station in Los Angeles, the LAPD said. However, the officers did not reveal the identity of the woman or the location. As long as the investigation continues, they did not want to make any further details public, said investigator Jonathan Tippet of the “Los Angeles Times”. However, the woman is not considered a suspect.
According to “TMZ.com” she had discovered the animals tied to a post, many kilometers from the crime scene. The woman could now be royally rewarded as a finder. Lady Gaga had previously announced that she was ready to pay a reward of $ 500,000 (about 410,000 euros) for the safe return of her dogs. At the weekend, nothing was known about a possible payment of the reward.
Lots of celebs sport their dog loves on social media posts. Oscar winner Reese Witherspon proudly presented her baby dog Minnie Pearl, a French bulldog, on Instagram in November. Chrissy Teigen and her husband John Legend own these expensive fashion dogs. Hilary Duff, Dwayne Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Hugh Jackman are also avowed “French Bulldog” fans.
As the popularity of these small dogs grew, so too did their black market value, the New York Post reported. French Bulldogs could fetch up to $ 5,000 in some circles, Brandi Hunter of the American Kennel Club, the governing body of U.S. pedigree dog breeders, told the newspaper.
The police have not yet given any information about the possible motive in the drama about Lady Gaga's dogs. Was the kidnapping of Koji and Gustav planned? Did the perpetrators know that it is the pop star's dogs? Without arrests, the police are in the dark. “Our work is not done yet,” said investigator Tippet the “Times”.
Armed dog robbery? The brutality of the attack caused horror. The dog sitter, injured by a shot in the chest, is on the mend. The doctors would expect a full recovery, quoted the Intert portal “TMZ.com” from a message from his family.
