LOS ANGELES -- Lady Gaga鈥檚 dog walker, who was shot during the violent theft of two of the singer鈥檚 French bulldogs, was recovering at home Tuesday morning after having part of his lung removed.
On the night of Feb 24, Ryan Fischer, 30, was walking Lady Gaga鈥檚 three French bulldogs in the 1500 block of North Sierra Bonita Avenue, just off Sunset Boulevard, when a sedan pulled up alongside him, two suspects emerged and stole two of the bulldogs, Gustave and Koji.
During the chaos, as Fischer was trying to fight the men off, he was shot once in the chest. The incident was caught on surveillance video.
The third bulldog, Miss Asia, ran away but was later found safe.
Fischer said he had been recovering well when his lung collapsed and he had to have surgery.
鈥淲ith the chest tube removed (which I can only equate to an alien baby extraction) and my blood oxygen stable, the journey outside to recover with loved ones began,鈥� he said.
He went on to say he began to experience 鈥渟trange hissing and glugging (sounds) coming from my chest every time I took a breath.鈥�
鈥淢y lung had collapsed, and air was filling up my chest cavity,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ack in the hospital, my lung collapsed again despite the new chest tube poking at my insides. And then it collapsed again. And again.鈥�
鈥淚t became quite clear that my lung was not healing and the bullet wound had scarred my tissue like a burn鈥�.Lunches of grilled cheese and tomato soup and art walks blurred into one until the day came to remove portions of my lung. As I was being wheeled into surgery, I finally accepted my recovery had become anything but a straight line.鈥�
Details of when the surgery took place were not disclosed.
He shared a video of himself changing from a hospital gown to his own clothes.
鈥淚 look back at my exit from the hospital and smile that I continue to approach each day the same way,鈥� Fischer said.
Lady Gaga, who is shooting a movie in Italy, offered a US$500,000 reward for the safe return of her dogs and praised Fischer, saying he risked his life 鈥渢o fight for our family. You鈥檙e forever a hero.鈥�
Two days after the attack, Gustave and Koji were discovered by a woman and turned into the Los Angeles Police Department鈥檚 Olympic Community Police Station in the Pico-Union area.
The department said it would keep confidential the location where the dogs were found and the woman鈥檚 name, 鈥渄ue to the active criminal investigation and for her safety.鈥�
Police did not confirm where the woman found the dogs, citing the ongoing criminal investigation. The two suspects remain at large.
The two suspects were described as men about 20 to 25 years old, one with blond dreadlocks and wearing a black hoodie and carrying a semi-automatic handgun. The other was clad in dark clothing. They fled the scene in a four-door Nissan Altima, according to the LAPD.
