Lady Gaga's dog walker shot and French bulldogs snatched in Los Angeles

Police said it was not clear whether Lady Gaga's dogs were targeted because of their celebrity owner. Photo / Greg Allen, Invision, AP, File

Lady Gaga's dog walker was shot and two of the singer's French bulldogs were stolen in Hollywood during an armed robbery, police said.

The dog walker was shot once Wednesday night and is expected to survive his injuries, according to Los Angeles Police Captain Jonathan Tippett, commanding officer of the department's elite Robbery-Homicide Division. The man was walking three of Lady Gaga's dogs at the time but one escaped.

Police said it was not clear whether Lady Gaga's dogs were targeted because of their celebrity owner. Photo / Greg Allen, Invision, AP, File

Tippett told The Associated Press that the dogs belong to pop star Lady Gaga. It's not yet clear if the dog walker was targeted because of his celebrity client.

Police were initially called to North Sierra Bonita Ave around 9.40pm on Wednesday following several 911 calls reporting a man screaming and the sound of a gunshot, said Captain Steven Lurie, commanding officer of the department's Hollywood Division.

Lady Gaga with her dogs Miss Asia and Koji in Midtown, New York City, in 2016. Photo / Michael Stewart, GC Images

The victim, whose name has not been released, was walking the dogs on a street off the famed Sunset Boulevard when a four-door sedan pulled over and two men tried to steal the animals, Tippett said.

The dog walker tried to fight them off and was shot by one of the men wielding a semi-automatic handgun during the struggle.

- AP