Assistant To Lady Gaga’s Dog Walker, Ryan Fischer, Says He’s Been Financially Abandoned After Shooting

Ryan Fischer is sharing his story with Rolling Stone.

Fischer, the dog walker to Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs, was shot during a botched kidnapping attempt, resulting in a prolonged hospitalization with a long recovery ahead.

As the magazine recounts, “Fischer is still working with a physical therapist to increase his lung capacity and get it back to where it was before the attack, but it’s taking time. The bullet damaged his brachial plexus — the network of nerves that serves as a line of communication between his spinal cord and his arm. He is still doing therapy to heal his rotator cuff. Three of his ribs broken in the attack are slowly healing, as are the scars from multiple chest tube insertions and the surgery.”

As a result, Fischer started a GoFundMe to help with expenses while he recovers while he is unable to work.

In the interview, Fischer — who is no longer employed by Gaga’s organization — offers praise for the singer and her team.

“They’re my friends, and I love them and they’re absolutely there for me,” Fischer said. “I have nothing but gratitude for everything. It’s just a weird situation just because of how it’s evolved in the media. But I’m very grateful for my friendships.”

However, Fischer’s assistant, Elisha Ault, tells RS a different story. According to Ault, during those first few months after the shooting, Gaga’s team was “supportive from afar — there were a lot of words of assurance, like: ‘Oh yeah, don’t worry about anything, we’re going to take complete care of you.’”

However, Ault claims that never materialized longterm. When Gaga and her entourage returned from Italy after completing filming of “House of Gucci”, claims Ault, “Nobody really made a point to come see him or talk to him or make contact with him. Ryan was a lot more than just an employee for them. They were friends — close friends — for years.”

When Fischer left on his recuperative road trip, Ault — who took care of his business expenses — sent invoices to his clients, including Gaga, anticipating an additional six months of support as he recovered from his injuries.

However, she says she was surprised to receive a text from a member of Gaga’s team inquiring what the invoice was for. Through that discussion, Ault says she became aware that Gaga’s team only intended that support to extend to three months beyond the shooting.

“He had moved out of his apartment, got rid of his car — he had made the move to change his life in a way that he was expecting to be supported in,” Ault says. “They knew that he didn’t have any other source of income.”

Fischer, however, says he’s thankful for the support that he did receive. “I received so much support, and I’m so grateful. I have nothing but gratitude in my heart for the care that I received and the support I received,” he tells the magazine. “Most [victims] of crime do not get that and I did, and I’m very grateful for that.”

According to RS, Lady Gaga, contacted through a representative, declined comment.