Lady Gaga’s Team Goes to Extreme Measures to Block Paparazzi After Dognapping

On Feb. 24, Lady Gaga‘s assistant, Ryan Fischer, was walking the singer’s three French bulldogs in Los Angeles when he was shot in the chest by assailants who took two animals. Gaga was seen for the first time since the incident on Tuesday. The pop star was spotted leaving her hotel in Rome, and her security team had strict measures to protect her.

In a video shared by The Hollywood Fix, Gaga’s security team erected a makeshift hallway leading from the hotel’s door to a waiting black van, with extra fabric held up at the entrance to the car by members of the team. Their efforts were successful, as no glimpse of Gaga was given to the cameraman attempting to film the Oscar winner’s exit from the hotel. The car’s windows were also blocked off with newspapers. Gaga is currently in Italy to film her upcoming movie, Gucci, which begins shooting this month.

The two dogs that were taken, Koji and Gustav, were returned to the police on Friday by an unnamed woman who said she found them tied to a post in Los Angeles. On Monday, Fischer released his first statement since the attack, praising the third dog, Asia, who escaped the assailants but returned to stay by Fischer’s side.

“While a car sped away and blood poured from my gunshot wound, an angel trotted over and laid next to me,” Fischer wrote on Instagram next to a photo of himself in the hospital. “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.”

“I will write and say more later, but the gratitude for all the love I feel from around this planet is immense and intense,” he added in a second post. “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.” A search for the two assailants is underway, and it is unclear whether the dogs were targeted because they belong to Gaga or simply because they are French bulldogs, a sought-after breed.