GRRR: Lady Gaga’s Dogwalker Shot and French Bulldogs Stolen

April 29, 2021 UPDATE: The dognappers have been caught, including the “good Samaritan” (yeah, right) who turned in Lady Gaga’s stolen French Bulldogs. The five losers are all being held on charges including attempted murder.

Feb. 26, 2021 UPDATE: Koji and Gustave have been found unharmed! Last night an unidentified woman brought Lady Gaga’s two stolen French Bulldogs to a downtown LAPD station. The LAPD said the woman wasn’t involved with the shooting or dognapping. Those creeps are still at large, and it’s not yet known whether the woman will receive the $500,000 reward. In more good news, although he was shot in the chest with a semi-automatic handgun (!), dogwalker Ryan Fischer is expected to make a full recovery.

When my local KABC Eyewitness News reported the disturbing news last night that someone with a semi-automatic handgun had shot a man walking three French Bulldogs in Hollywood and then stole two of the dogs, my heart went out to the victim and the owner of the stolen dogs.

It turns out the owner of those Frenchies — Koji, Gustav and Miss Asia — is Lady Gaga. The victim is Ryan Fischer, her dogwalker.

When paramedics arrived at the crime scene, Fischer was conscious and still managing to hold onto Miss Asia, the dog who wasn’t stolen. In the video below, a police officer can be seen taking and comforting the frightened Frenchie. Fischer was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and, fortunately, is expected to recover from his wounds.

Witnesses say the gunman fled with the dogs in a white Nissan vehicle. Lady Gaga, who is currently filming a movie in Italy, is offering a $500,000 reward for the safe return of Koji and Gustav, no questions asked. The LAPD’s robbery-homicide division is investigating the crime.

It’s not known whether the creep knew he was stealing Lady Gaga’s dogs. An LAPD spokesperson told KABC that thefts of French Bulldogs are on the rise in the city.

Because they’re so popular, expensive and easy to pick up because of their small size, French Bulldogs are among the most stolen dog breeds, Tara Bruno, founder of the Short Noses Only Rescue Team (SNORT), a New Jersey nonprofit that rescues these and other dogs, told PEOPLE.

“Our whole family is upset and praying Koji and Gustavo are not harmed,” Lady Gaga’s dad, Joe Germanotta, told Fox News. “Help us catch these creeps.”

Anyone with information about Koji and Gustav’s whereabouts is asked to email KojiandGustav@gmail.com.

Photo: Justin Higuchi

How to Help Texas Animal Rescues and Shelters Affected by Freezing Weather

“We are facing Pupageddon,” the rescue group Dallas DogRRR – Rescue.Rehab.Reform wrote on its Facebook page Feb. 18. Record-breaking freezing temperatures have left millions without heat or electricity in Texas, including animals and the people who rescue and shelter them.

Here’s what you can do to help some of these shelters and rescues. If you know of others that need help due to the freezing weather, please leave a comment and I’ll add them to the list.

Austin Pets Alive!

Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is serving as a “mega-center” during this disaster, according to a Feb. 19 post on its Facebook page.

“Despite facing countless challenges, including a days-long power outage, impassable roads, water loss, and facility damage, APA! has continued life-saving efforts,” wrote the nonprofit, which is dedicated to keeping Austin no-kill.

In the coming weeks, APA! estimates that over 5,000 animals in Austin and the surrounding areas will need help. “Our team is already fielding requests to pull animals from hard-hit areas across the state and we continue to receive requests for help with food, bedding, water and supplies as so many are displaced from their homes,” APA! wrote on its website.

You can help by:

Dallas DogRRR

“It’s bad here in the Rio Grande Valley—really really bad. Moms frozen with their babies, people trying to put together makeshift shelters and tents for some strays, the dogs are dropping like flies!” wrote an animal rescuer in the Rio Grande Valley who is partnered with Dallas DogRRR, a group of volunteers that rescue animals mainly in the southeast Dallas area.

“The shelters are bursting,” the volunteer wrote. “Owner surrenders right and left. Shelter having issues with frozen bursting pipes. Trying to hold the cold back and find rescue to get the dogs out.”

You can help by:

Yaqui Animal Rescue

Located in Sullivan City in the Rio Grande Valley, Yaqui Animal Rescue is a no-kill, non-profit shelter on an 80-acre ranch. According to its website, the Rio Grande Valley and neighboring cities have the largest stray animal population in the United States.

This week Yaqui Animal Rescue lost power and all of its pipes broke, leaving the shelter without water.

You can help by:

Houston SPCA

As temperatures plunged to single digits, the Houston SPCA received about 150 phone calls each day about animals left outside in the freezing cold, CNN reports.

The nonprofit’s team of 10 cruelty investigators has been putting in long hours saving the lives of these animals.

“Now that we are warming up … now is when our work is really going to start,” Julie Kuenstle, Houston SPCA vice president of communications, told CNN. “That’s what usually happens with a disaster.”

You can help by:

Dogs Saved After Falling into Frozen Texas Swimming Pools

During the freezing weather in Texas last week, two dogs were rescued after they fell into swimming pools. Here are their stories.

Neighbor’s Dog Alerts Family to Yellow Lab Who Fell in Pool

If not for the barking of Leo, a neighbor’s dog, this story of a yellow Lab named Zoya would very likely have had a tragic ending.

Zoya and her family were staying with those neighbors after a pipe burst in their Southlake, Texas, house during the freezing weather there. As Zoya was sniffing out the unfamiliar backyard last Wednesday, she wandered onto the surface of the frozen swimming pool — and plunged through the ice into the freezing water.

As Zoya struggled to get out, Leo immediately started barking. Zoya’s dog dad, Rajat Sharma, heard the commotion and rushed out to his dog, falling through the hole himself. Fortunately, Zoya wasn’t far from the pool’s edge and Sharma was able to lift her out to safety.

“What I knew was that I got to go in and get her, right?” Sharma told CBS DFW. “I was trying to tread lightly, but in the back of my mind I knew that if it couldn’t take her weight, it definitely won’t take mine.”

Sharma was also helped out of the pool by a family member. The scary incident was captured on a security camera.

Based on what happened, Sharma has an important warning for all pet parents: Keep a close eye on your dog outdoors, especially in freezing weather.

“That ice is still out there and it’s probably starting to melt, and you know it’s dangerous,” he told CBS DFW. “Your pups are just like your kids. Just make sure there’s somebody around to get to them if trouble comes knocking.”

8-Year-Old Girl Rescues 90-Pound Dog Who Fell in Pool

Amelia Cipriano was playing in the snow in her Austin backyard Feb. 15 when her dog, Cooper, suddenly lost his footing and fell into the swimming pool.

The 8-year-old girl immediately ran to the pool’s edge and, thanks to adrenaline, managed to pull her 90-pound dog to safety.

“Amelia was pumped that she saved Cooper’s life, and Cooper was pumped that he got to go for a ‘swim,’” Amelia’s dad, Ron Cipriano, told WSVN. “He obviously loves the water.”

Both Amelia and Cooper are doing fine. Cooper hasn’t left his hero’s side since the incident, Cipriano said.

Cooper’s rescue was captured on the family’s home surveillance camera. Brava, Amelia!

Here’s how you can help Texas animal rescue groups and shelters impacted by the freezing weather.

Photo: CBSDFW/YouTube

Rescued German Shepherd Rescues New Dog Dad Having a Stroke

It didn’t take long for former pound pup Sadie, a German Shepherd whose life was saved in September by Brian Myers of Teaneck, N.J., to pay it forward. When her new dog dad had a stroke last month, Sadie helped to save his life.

After Myers, who lives alone, collapsed on the floor in the middle of the night, Sadie lied down beside him, whimpering and licking his face to help keep him awake. Myers grabbed her collar.

“She instinctively started to pull backwards,” he told NBC New York. “That was enough to enable me to shuffle with her out of where I was.” With Sadie’s help, he was able to stand up and get to a phone to call for help.

“I don’t know how she knew to do it, but that she was able to pull me the way she did, I was so grateful to her,” Myers added. If Sadie hadn’t taken action, he said, “I may as well have been worse off than I am right now.”

It’s also pretty amazing that 6-year-old Sadie was adopted at all. The German Shepherd had been surrendered to the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge in Oakland, N.J., when her owner had to relocate to a property that didn’t allow certain dog breeds. (Grrr! Yet another reason why breed bans are so unfair.)

“She was confused and seemingly lost upon rescue, having suddenly lost the only family that she knew,” the shelter wrote on its Facebook page. “Sadie is a loyal dog, but nervous and protective with new people, making her a more difficult placement.” The shelter also noted that Sadie was “especially nervous with men.”

But the night that Myers brought Sadie to her new forever home, “she jumped up and put her paws on my shoulders and gave me a kiss on the face,” he told TODAY. “And it just seemed to me that she was saying, ‘Thank you for rescuing me.’”

“To us, Brian’s a hero because he saved Sadie,” Megan Brinster, a staff member at the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge, told NBC New York. “And now Sadie saved him, so it’s like the most incredible match.”

A Very Special RBARI Story! RBARI Alumni Sadie saved owner’s life, as she drags him to help after suffering a…

Posted by Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge on Tuesday, February 2, 2021

When Myers had COVID-19 and was confined to bed, Sadie loyally stayed by his side as he recovered. He told TODAY the virus may have caused him to develop a blood clot, which led to the stroke. He is currently recovering in a rehabilitation facility while Sadie is temporarily staying with his brother. Myers told NBC New York he misses his hero dog every day.

“I can’t wait to see her and give her a hug and a kiss and I’ll probably cry my eyes out doing so,” he said. According to the shelter, Myers and Sadie “FaceTime every night.” Awww!

Myers has a very important message for anyone thinking about adopting a shelter pet: “There are many other dogs there, waiting to be somebody’s hero,” he told NBC New York.

Update: Myers and his hero dog were reunited on Feb. 9 outside his rehabilitation facility. Here’s the video. (Tissue alert!!)

 

To help the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge care for more potential hero dogs, you can make an online donation.

Photo: Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge/Facebook

COVID Detection Dogs Will Check Miami Heat Fans

There’s good news for Miami Heat fans who want to attend a game in person at the AmericanAirlines Arena. Instead of having long swabs inserted up their nostrils to test for COVID-19, attendees will be checked by COVID-19 detection dogs who’ll use their own noses to get results within 10 seconds.

About 1,500 season ticket holders will be allowed into the arena for the game on Jan. 28. That is, unless a COVID-19 detection dog sniffs out the virus. In that case, the fan and everyone in their party will get a refund and be asked to leave, even if the fan has proof of a previously negative COVID test. Additional safety protocols will also be in place, such as a requirement for everyone older than 2 years old to wear a mask, physical distancing, and a ban on eating and drinking inside the arena.

Fans who are uncomfortable around dogs can be tested for COVID-19 the traditional way, but it will take about 45 minutes as opposed to several seconds.

The Miami Heat is the first NBA team to use Coronavirus-sniffing dogs this way, but it very likely won’t be the last. If all goes well, the team will increase the number of COVID-19 detection dog teams from four to at least 10 for future games.

“We’re taking a little bit of a leap forward,” Matthew Jafarian, the team’s executive vice president of business strategy, told the Washington Post. “We’re out in front on this, but like with anything new, somebody’s got to take the first step.”

The dogs are being provided by a company that trains dogs to detect COVID-19 as well as explosive devices and prohibited agriculture products at airports. When a dog sniffs out COVID-19, they alert their handler by sitting down. The dogs have been trained to sniff out the active virus and won’t signal if someone has received the vaccine.

A July 2020 study found that trained dogs could sniff out COVID-19 in human saliva and respiratory secretions with 94% accuracy. Although the dogs’ noses are very accurate, Jafarian warned that if they do sniff out COVID-19, it “is not considered a diagnostic test.”

Thanks to the Coronavirus-sniffing dogs and other safety measures, Jafarian told the Washington Post the Miami Heat believes “it’s going to be safer in our arena than getting on an airplane, sitting next to all these people who aren’t tested, or eating at a restaurant, where everybody’s not masked — it’s going to be safer than all those things.”

Photo: NBA

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