Lady Gaga's Dognapping Drama Explained

Gaga has gone through a lot for her fur babies!

Two of Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs were abducted in 2021, which resulted in the shooting of her dog walker. Even though this devastating case seemed to reach a conclusion pretty soon with the returning of her dogs, it turns out that this story has had several developments over time. As of 2023, we’re still getting new chapters surrounding this never-ending saga.

From cash rewards to long-term hospitalizations to the charging of guilty parties to the filing of lawsuits, Gaga has been going through a lot since her fur babies were abducted by a group of people trying to make money off of her.

Scroll through for a comprehensive timeline of the abduction of Lady Gaga’s dogs.

Lady Gaga's dogs are abducted.

On February 24, 2021, two of Gaga’s French bulldogs – Koji and Gustav – were stolen from her dog walker, a man named Ryan Fischer (via AP). Her third dog, Miss Asia, escaped the kidnapping and was recovered by the police. During the incident, Fischer got shot and was hospitalized.

Gaga offers a $500,000 reward for the safe return of her dogs.

On February 26, 2021, Lady Gaga offered a reward of $500,000 for someone to safely return Koji and Gustav to her. She wrote on social media:

"My beloved dogs Koji and Gustav were taken in Hollywood two nights ago. My heart is sick and I am praying my family will be whole again with an act of kindness. I will pay $500,000 for their safe return. Email [email protected] to contact us. If you bought or found them unknowingly, the reward is the same. I continue to love you, Ryan Fischer, you risked your life to fight for our family. You’re forever a hero."

A woman returns Gaga's stolen dogs to a police station.

On February 26, 2021, a woman returned Gaga’s two stolen dogs to a police station in Los Angeles. Thankfully, both of them were unharmed. According to initial reports from AP, the woman who returned the dogs was “uninvolved and unassociated” with the kidnapping of the dogs. At the time, Gaga was in Rome, Italy filming House of Gucci.

Ryan Fischer is discharged from the hospital.

On March 29, 2021, Ryan Fischer was finally discharged from the hospital after a month-long recovery. According to TMZ, “one of [Fischer’s] lungs didn't cooperate and kept collapsing and it reached a point where he was readmitted for surgery to remove portions of it.”

The woman who returned Gaga's dogs is charged by the police for being involved in the dognapping.

On April 29, 2021, the woman who had returned the dogs to the police station was identified as 50-year-old Jennifer McBride (via The Guardian). She was charged as one of five people who were directly involved with the abduction of Gaga’s dogs. The other names in the case were James Howard Jackson (the man who shot Gaga's dog walker), Jaylin White, Lafayette Whaley, and Harold White.

James Howard Jackson is sentenced to 21 years in prison.

On December 5, 2022, Jackson was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the violent robbery that involved stealing Gaga’s dogs and shooting Ryan Fischer, as reported by the ​New York Times.

Jennifer McBride sues Lady Gaga for not paying her the reward for returning the singer's dogs.

On February 24, 2023, Jennifer McBride sued Lady Gaga for not paying the $500,000 “no questions asked” reward that Gaga offered for the safe return of her abducted dogs. Despite being connected to the dognapping incident and being formally charged with the crime, McBride believes that she’s still entitled to the reward money. According to TMZ, McBride “wants the court to triple the damages to $1.5 million for allegedly posting the misleading reward.”