Lady Gaga's Dog Walker Ryan Fischer Asks Followers for Donations After Van Dies During Mental Health Road Trip

Ryan Fischer, Lady Gaga’s dog walker, has taken an unusual road to heal the physical and emotional wounds left from the shooting he was recently involved in.

In February 2021, Ryan was shot while walking the singer’s three dogs. Two of them were stolen and later returned, and Lady Gaga called Fischer “forever a hero.”

Part of Fischer’s lung had to be removed because of the bullet, and the toll on his mental health has left him with what he calls “long bouts of depression.”

Now the former dog walker is crowdfunding to continue riding across the country, visiting retreat centers, trauma programs, and spiritual leaders for what he calls an “unconventional journey of healing.”

Ryan set out on his journey two months ago in a 1991 Ford Falcon van he named Trudy. But now Trudy no longer works, and without an apartment and dwindling savings, Ryan said he is “humbly” asking for donations from those who have followed his journey. 

Ryan calls this foray into van life a “terrifying joy” but says he continues to share it because other people who have suffered traumas may benefit from the tools he’s learned along the way.

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