Lady Gaga’s Dog Walker Speaks Out From His Hospital Bed Following Shooting

Days after Lady Gaga’s dog walker was attacked and shot by someone who then stole the singer’s dogs, he’s speaking out about the traumatic incident.

Ryan Fischer is currently recovering at the hospital from the Feb. 24 assault, during which he was shot in the chest, but he took to Instagram on Monday to let his followers know that he is grateful for their support and to describe the violent robbery.

Fischer was walking Lady Gaga’s three French bulldogs in Hollywood on Wednesday evening when two suspects approached him from a white Nissan Altima and brandished a gun, demanding he give them the dogs, the Los Angeles Police Department previously said in a release. Fischer fought them and, during the struggle, one of the suspects shot him before the pair took two of the three dogs and fled the scene in their car, according to the release. The two suspects have not been apprehended or named, but an unnamed woman found the dogs abandoned in an alleyway and returned them on Friday, police confirmed.

Taking to Instagram on Monday, Fischer shared photos of himself in his hospital bed and described what it was like being shot. The dog that was not stolen, Asia, stayed by his side and comforted him while he bled and waited for help, he wrote.

“[Four] days ago, while a car sped away and blood poured from my gun shot wound, an angel trotted over and laid next to me,” his first post began. “My panicked screams calmed as I looked at her, even though it registered that the blood pooling around her tiny body was my own. I cradled Asia as best I could, thanked her for all the incredible adventures we’d been on together, apologized that I couldn’t defend her brothers, and then resolved that I would still try to save them… and myself.”

Asia, he said, was his “guardian angel.” He is now recovering but wanted to thank his supporters for their concern, as well as commend Lady Gaga for her “unwavering” support.

“I will write and say more later, but the gratitude for all the love I feel from around this planet is immense and intense. I felt your healing support! Thank you. I am humbled and grateful that attention and focus from the police were enough to get Koji and Gustav back to safety, and I know they are committed to bringing these criminals and attempted murderers to justice. I am so appreciative of everything you continue to do,” he wrote in his second post.

Addressing Lady Gaga directly, he said, “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.”

Video footage of the attack, obtained and published by TMZ, show two suspects approach Fischer as he’s walking the dogs; a violent confrontation then ensues, with one of the men shooting Fischer before they both flee the scene, leaving him lying on the ground and calling out for help. At one point, you can hear Fischer shout that he's been shot "by his heart."

Following the theft of her dogs, Lady Gaga took to social media to plead for the safe return of the two pups, Koji and Gustav, and to offer a $500,000 reward. She also called Fischer a “hero.” The woman who returned the dogs to a local police station days later appears to be “uninvolved and unassociated” with the abduction, Capt. Jonathan Tippet with the LAPD told the Associated Press.

Police said early in the investigation that it was unclear if the abduction was a targeted act against Gaga, and suggested that the suspects likely knew that that particular breed – French bulldogs – typically have a high monetary value, PEOPLE reports.