Lady Gaga's Dog Walker Recounts His 'Very Close Call With Death'

The California dog walker who was shot amid a violent altercation that ended in two of Lady Gaga ’s three French bulldogs being stolen last week is speaking out about the harrowing experience. 

In two lengthy Instagram posts, Ryan Fischer said he is “still in recovery from a very close call with death,” but he thanked friends, first responders and the Los Angeles Police Department for the support he’d received following the Feb. 24 attack . 

“I will write and say more later, but the gratitude for all the love I feel from around this planet is immense and intense,” Fischer wrote, alongside a pair of photos showing him hooked up to a ventilator and, later, sitting upright in a hospital bed. “I felt your healing support!” 

In a segment of one of the posts addressed directly to Lady Gaga, he wrote, “You have shown so much support throughout this whole crisis to both me and my family. But your support as a friend, despite your own traumatic loss from your kids, was unwavering.”

“I love you and thank you,” he added. 

According to reports , Fischer was shot in the chest after refusing to hand over the three dogs, Asia, Koji and Gustav, to two armed men who emerged from a white sedan. 

After shooting Fischer, the men grabbed Koji and Gustav and drove off in the sedan. Asia, however, remained by Fischer’s side after a witness called 911 and the paramedics arrived. 

Immediately following the attack, Lady Gaga offered a $500,000 reward for the safe return of Koji and Gustav. In an Instagram post, she praised Fischer as “forever a hero.” 

An unidentified woman returned the dogs, both of which were unharmed, to local law enforcement Friday. 

Capt. Jonathan Tippet, who leads the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division, stressed that the investigation was ongoing but said he did not believe that the woman who turned over the dogs was involved in the robbery. 

“I don’t want to get into any discussions about her or where the dogs were actually located,” he told the Los Angeles Times . “We’re providing very little information on this because this is an ongoing investigation and because we are also concerned about her safety.”