Lady Gaga's dog walker Ryan Fischer breaks silence after 'close call with death'

Ryan Fischer took to social media on Monday for a health update as he recovers from his gunshot wounds and to share his gratitude to those who helped bring Lady Gaga's French bulldogs Koji and Gustav safely back home.

The dogwalker shared two photos taken from his hospital room in Los Angeles on Instagram, one was of him looking unconscious and the other fully awake. In the first snap, he credited the singer's third dog, Asia, for calming him down after he got shot four times.

He said the dog trotted over him and laid next to him as blood pooled around her tiny trembling body. Asia calmed his panicked screams as he looked at her and he cradled her as best he could. Fischer then thanked her for "all the incredible adventures" they have been on together and apologised that he could not "defend her brothers." He then resolved to try to save them and himself as he tried his best to describe the suspects.

"Hopeful that my calm(ish) and forceful pleas for the urgency of my care as well as the focused descriptions of the dogs would be enough to help me and get enough police and media attention to find the boys, I looked back at my guardian angel. I smiled at her shaking form, thankful that at least she would be okay," he wrote.

Fischer shared in his second photo that he is still in "recovery from a very close call with death" and has kept himself out of the media spotlight. He promised to reveal more details in the future. In the meantime, he just wants to thank family, friends, his dog clients, and the public for their messages of love and healing and their support in bringing Koji and Gustav home.

He also thanked Lady Gaga for her support as he wrote, "your babies are back and the family is whole... we did it! 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."

In closing, Fischer said "a lot of healing still needs to happen" but he is looking forward to the future. He also expressed his excitement to reunite with Koji, Gustav, and Asia.

On Feb. 27, the Los Angeles Police Department reported that a woman, whose identity remains confidential for safety reasons, brought the dogs to the station. The pups were unharmed and safely returned to Lady Gaga's representatives while the singer is in Rome to film "Gucci."