“She seemed normal”

A 27-year-old woman from Connecticut has been arrested after a dog died in her care after admitting she was “on a casino bender” at the time of the dog’s death.

The Hanson family from Massachusetts needed a dog trainer after getting worried about the way Charlie, their three-year-old French bulldog, behaved around their toddler. Searching for a dog trainer, the family discovered Josephine Ragland and her private dog training business, Everything Animals, on home services directory app Thumbtack.

she was a young lady who seemed to like animals”

After the Hansons contacted Ragland, she turned up at their house using Lily as a false name. Accepting $2,000 from the family, Ragland picked Charlie up for a two-week boarding program. Bart Hanson said of Ragland: “She seemed normal, she was a young lady who seemed to like animals.”

North Reading police in Connecticut have charged Ragland with felony larceny and misleading a police officer.

Emaciated dog

Over the two weeks Charlie was away from his family, Ragland provided the Hansons with regular updates, including pictures and short videos of their dog.

It is believed that Charlie died three to five days into his stay with Ragland, though of course she did not tell the Hansons. A necropsy by the University of Connecticut found that Charlie was emaciated with nothing in his stomach. The dog is believed to have died around September 4.

she continued to send photos and videos to his family

Despite knowing she was the cause of Charlie’s death, Ragland failed to inform his owners. Even after his death, she continued sending photos and videos to his family. On the day Charlie was supposed to return home, Ragland texted the Hansons saying her car had broken down and that Charlie had escaped and been hit by another vehicle. Ragland said she buried Charlie in her back garden.

On September 16, Charlie’s owners contacted the police, informing them their dog had not been returned following “an agreed-upon training period.”

Police found his body in Norwich, Connecticut, 115 miles from the Hanson’s home and roughly 45 minutes away from Ragland’s house.

Four other dogs were “recovered and safely returned to their owners” in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut.

Issues with gambling

Police interviewed Ragland for over three hours. According to their 15-page report, she changed her story several times during the interrogation. At one point, she claimed Charlie had collapsed. She also admitted that she had “issues with gambling” and had been “on a bender at a casino every day before and after work.”

It appears, though, that this isn’t the first case of animal neglect in Ragland’s care.

Carolina Bruchilari from California said the same thing happened to her. She also found Ragland through Thumbtack and paid her $2,000 to train her German Shephard, Scott. Bruchilari said when the dog was brought back, it was a different one.

“Scott disappeared in January of 2023 and since then, we have never seen him again,” Bruchilari said.