Leaving his dog with an unknown trainer turned fatal for Bart Hanson
Poker pro Bart Hanson recently shared the nightmare he and his wife suffered last month involving a so-called dog trainer who allegedly neglected his dog before it died. The poker pro and WSOP finalist still has nightmares about the ordeal.
The Hansons obtained a French bulldog named Charlie in Austin, Texas, a few years ago before moving to North Reading outside Boston and decided to get some training for the dog. Using the Thumbtack app, Hanson says he hired a trainer named “Lily” for $1,500, who would board the dog in Connecticut and return it a couple weeks later.
They received daily texts with photos showing the dog’s progress, but when the date came for Charlie to be returned, Lily informed the Hansons that the dog was lost. Hanson tried contacting the trainer multiple times because the story just didn’t make sense, and she never responded to his attempts to make contact. He then called the police, notifying them that he may have been the victim of a scam to steal his French bulldog.
Lily later called him with a confusing story about her insurance company and her car breaking down in Massachusetts, but she couldn’t give him an exact location of where the breakdown was or what actually happened, and asked her to call the North Reading police officer that he previously contacted.
After further investigation, police discovered her real name was Josephine Ragland. She admitted to police she was gambling at a casino and that the dog had collapsed in her car. Charlie’s emaciated body was found in the woods near her parents’ home in Connecticut. Four other dogs were found at Ragland’s home and were returned to the owners.
Ragland faces felony larceny and obstruction of justice charges and could face other charges in a California case.
Emma Rodriguez is the Proofreader at the Big Blind, with seven years of experience and five years in online gambling. She plays a crucial role in maintaining content quality by ensuring error-free, reader-friendly information about the gambling industry.
