# Lady Gaga's dogwalker shot and dogs stolen **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 26, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812 "2021-02-26T14:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/21 "2021-02-26T18:35:28Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > When our cat went missing for a couple of days, the local vet said they only scanned chips for animals they recognized. > > If you recognize the pet, WTF is the chip for!? Profit? ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/22 "2021-02-26T18:45:59Z")
The vets I’ve used, for as long as microchips have been a thing, have always scanned my pets on the first visit in order to make the chip ID part of the vet record. Does “no questions asked” mean “no police will be surveiling our meeting”? Or just, I personally won’t ask how you where you got the dogs? If she turns over to police everything she knows about whomever she gave the money to, (without having asked any questions) what can they do? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/23 "2021-02-26T18:58:35Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > To be fair, the police are going to be looking into that. > > The police may have less interest in returning her dogs. I thought of that. However, people may be more motivated to help in locating the perpetrators if they knew there was a large reward. On the other hand, people who have information about the dogs will also have information about the robbers. The police are saying there’s nothing to indicate the robbers knew who owned the dogs. Which unfortunately could be bad news for the dogs, since all the publicity means they won’t dare to sell them and may dispose of them. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/24 "2021-02-26T19:22:32Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > But surely these dogs are chipped, right? > > So even if they sell them to someone, the first time it goes to a vet it will be discovered, I should expect. Per [TMZ](https://www.tmz.com/2021/02/26/lady-gaga-frenchbulldog-stolen-target-ransom/), no, they weren’t chipped. (A fairly tiny minority of American dogs are.) My vet scanned my dogs on the first visit specifically to confirm that the chip was indeed the one the humane society/rescue group had told me was there, and even at that, one of mine has apparently had his chip migrate (it’s low on one shoulder instead of high on the neck) and even knowing it should have been there the vet had trouble finding it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/25 "2021-02-26T19:25:20Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > The vets I’ve used, for as long as microchips have been a thing, have always scanned my pets on the first visit in order to make the chip ID part of the vet record. But presumably you’ve told them the dog is chipped. Would they scan it if someone told them the dog wasn’t chipped? ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/26 "2021-02-26T19:32:51Z")
In my experience, they would likely feel the chip when examining the dog. At least, the chips have been palpable on several of my pets – especially the smaller ones. I’m not sure if I’ve ever felt the chip on my current ~55lb dog. Also, would new owners say the dogs weren’t chipped? I would think that innocent new owners would say they didn’t know. Ah, well, I guess it’s moot since they weren’t chipped. The low percentage of chipped pets really surprised me though. I wonder if it varies a lot regionally. All the shelters and rescues around here do it, and I think a whole lot of pets here are adopted from shelters and rescues. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/27 "2021-02-26T19:36:26Z")
Could she be worried that if she put a bounty on their heads that they might just cut the dogs throats and move on…? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/28 "2021-02-26T19:37:10Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > . In this case, the thieves were spectacularly unlucky in that they stole dogs belonging to a celebrity,… I am 90% sure this was planned they will be held for ransom. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/29 "2021-02-26T19:47:12Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Also, would new owners say the dogs weren’t chipped? I would think that innocent new owners would say they didn’t know. Someone who was selling a stolen dog would tell them it wasn’t chipped. Or come to think of it, it would be more likely they would look for a chip and remove it. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/30 "2021-02-26T19:50:55Z")
I’m having trouble imagining either of those things. Making a point of saying the dog doesn’t have a chip, without saying, “so you might want to get one,” as part of it seems hard to do without it being suspicious. And if they’re trying to get money for purebred French bulldogs, I’d be surprised if they decided to do amateur surgery on them first. Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/31 "2021-02-26T20:15:09Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > I think this is simply a case of stupid criminals. It obviously seems like they were going after ransom money, but it’s idiotic to throw in attempted murder in a dognapping scheme. Somebody got trigger happy when they should have just ran. It’s a common problem: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Jbq4nGObfqA/maxresdefault.jpg "Seven Psychopaths - Official Movie Trailer [HD]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbq4nGObfqA) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/32 "2021-02-26T20:36:28Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > I’m having trouble imagining either of those things. Making a point of saying the dog doesn’t have a chip, without saying, “so you might want to get one,” as part of it seems hard to do without it being suspicious. She might have been advised to say “Don’t tell them they are chipped. If you do, they are dead. Play along, pretend you didn’t get them chipped and you have a better % chance of getting the dogs back alive. Don’t let on they are chipped” Of course, with us theorizing about this ( and the dog nappers being able to read ) all of us probably just signed those two dogs death warrants. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/33 "2021-02-26T20:42:37Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > Of course, with us theorizing about this ( and the dog nappers being able to read ) all of us probably just signed those two dogs death warrants. Of course the million people on TwitFace doing the same musing would never be noticed. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/34 "2021-02-26T20:42:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I am 90% sure this was planned they will be held for ransom. It seems obvious to me that this was very poorly planned, if planned at all. They jumped him when he was in front of a house with a security camera, rather than doing it in front of the property before that which looks like it could be a lot. If they had a gun they should have just showed it to him to intimidate him, rather than jumping him so he started screaming. It looks like they shot him because he was holding on to one of the guys and wouldn’t let him go, and they panicked. Someone who was planning to kidnap a celebrity’s dog for ransom would have scoped out the dogwalker’s route and picked a spot that wasn’t in front of a house. These look like very stupid criminals rather than criminal masterminds. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/35 "2021-02-26T20:46:15Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I am 90% sure this was planned they will be held for ransom. It seems obvious to me that this was very poorly planned, if planned at all. They jumped him when he was in front of a house with a security camera, rather than doing it in front of the property before that which looks like it could be a lot. If they had a gun they should have just showed it to him to intimidate him, rather than jumping him so he started screaming. It looks like they shot him because he was holding on to one of the guys and wouldn’t let him go, and they panicked. Someone who was planning to kidnap a celebrity’s dog for ransom would have scoped out the dogwalker’s route and picked a spot that wasn’t in front of a house. [Here’s the complete video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HunzprLkhMY) Caution, it includes the shooting. After seeing it, I have to conclude this was spur of the moment thing by two thugs who were cruising looking for targets of opportunity. They had no idea of the shitstorm they were going to produce. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/36 "2021-02-26T20:59:21Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Is checking for a chip a typical first vet appointment move? I’ve lived in three different cities in the past 30 years, where I have owned pets (therefore, three different vets), and every time I acquired a new one (pet, that is), it was scanned for a chip, including the one acquired _from_ the vet, because they needed to get the information from the chip so I could register myself as the owner of the pet. > [@bibliophage](#): > > Am I the only one who thinks it’s odd that she’s not offering any reward for information leading to the arrest of the criminals who brutally shot her dog walker? I can see her wanting to get the dogs returned first, before offering money for info on the shooter. She may have imagined that she’d offer that kind of money, and have the dogs back within hours, then she could offer a reward for info on the dogwalker’s shooter. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/37 "2021-02-26T21:02:29Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > She’s offering a $500,000 reward, no questions asked, for the return of the dogs. Do you have a cite for that? I mean - I know she’s offering the reward, but do we know she’s offering it _without_ apprehension of the criminals? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/38 "2021-02-26T21:12:38Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > I’m having trouble imagining either of those things. Making a point of saying the dog doesn’t have a chip, without saying, “so you might want to get one,” as part of it seems hard to do without it being suspicious. It’s about $45 to chip your dog. Worth it. If your dog ever gets lost, and loses its collar, then if it gets picked up, then they will give you a call to let you know they have your dog. > [@eschrodinger](#): > > And if they’re trying to get money for purebred French bulldogs, I’d be surprised if they decided to do amateur surgery on them first. Yikes. I’ve never attempted such a thing myself, but it’s literally like a grain of rice right under the skin. You can feel it quite easily. Wouldn’t require much to remove it. I _am_ surprised that these dogs were not chipped, but I’m also surprised at the rather low rate of chipping in general. All my dogs have been chipped, and at least half my clients have chips. I’m not really sure why someone would _not_ chip their dog. If it’s the expense, then you probably can’t afford a dog in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/39 "2021-02-26T21:22:59Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The average price of a French Bulldog is $1,500-$3,000, although the most expensive can run to $100,000. But I can’t imagine how you would go about fencing a hot dog. Is that the price of the dog itself, or is that the price of the piece of paper that comes with the dog documenting that’s it’s a certified purebred French bulldog? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812/40 "2021-02-26T21:30:15Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Do you have a cite for that? I mean - I know she’s offering the reward, but do we know she’s offering it _without_ apprehension of the criminals? Well, that’s [what’s being reported](https://time.com/5942530/lady-gaga-dog-robbery/), attributed to her “representatives.” > [@](#): > > Lady Gaga is offering the reward for the return of her dogs — whose names are Koji and Gustav — with no questions asked, according to her representative. An email address for tips, [KojiandGustav@gmail.com](mailto:KojiandGustav@gmail.com), has been set up. The singer is currently in Rome to film a movie. Time isn’t a tabloid and might care about the authenticity of the information. It’s also being reported by the LA Times. [She’s getting some flak about it.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbRemC8qQpQ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lady-gagas-dogwalker-shot-and-dogs-stolen/933812.md?page=3)