Affluent Beverly Hills French bulldog owners are living in fear of dog-snatching and are taking drastic measures to protect their pets.
Their paranoia is not unfounded. High-quality French bulldogs generally range in price from $4,000 to $30,000, according to Air Mail. Compounding the situation is that there have been several dognappings that have taken place in the area following the high-profile incident involving Lady Gaga's French bulldogs last year.
The pop icon's pet minder, Ryan Fischer, was ambushed and shot by thieves while walking Lady Gaga’s three dogs — Koji, Miss Asia, and Gustav — near Fischer's Hollywood home. Miss Asia managed to run off and was found safe but the other two French bulldogs were stolen.
While Fischer recovered in hospital, Lady Gaga desperately sought her pets, offering a $500,000 reward for their safe return with "no questions asked." Days later, the dogs were returned and three suspects were later arrested.
The incident sent shock waves through the community and now French bulldog owners are doing everything in their power to keep their animals safe. This means no longer walking their dogs, carrying tasers, and even moving away.
"We don't feel safe," one woman who lives in Beverly Hills and who asked to remain anonymous, told Air Mail. She no longer walks her three French bulldogs but instead simulates their walks by driving her dogs around the neighborhood in the evenings.
"We put them in the back of the car because the windows are tinted so nobody can see that Frenchies are in the car," she explained.
Woodland Hills resident Luis Marin and his fiancée, Christie McCarthy, are also nervous about walking their French bulldog, Dice, and instead push him around in a children's stroller with a cover so that people cannot see who, or what, is inside. Marin also carries with him a police-grade taser.
Los Angeles Police Department has not reported a spike in dognappings, according to Air Mail, but the crime that has been taking place is enough to have dog owners up in arms — and some are so fed up that they want to decamp to the beach.
"We have a second home in Malibu, and we are seriously considering leaving [Beverly Hills] because we feel so uncomfortable," the anonymous Beverly Hills dog owner explained to the outlet. "It'd be terrible if anything happened to any of them."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.