Bart Hanson making national news as he goes after dog training scammer Josephine Ragland, who killed his 3 year old dog

[Dan Druff]

Bart Hanson never owned a dog before. He finally took the plunge when he bought a bulldog and named it Charlie.



Desiring to have a professional train Charlie, he used gig work app "Thumbtack" to search for dog trainers. Thumbtack is used to hire various kinds of service people to take small jobs, such as housecleaning, home repair, etc. In this case, Bart was looking for a dog trainer there.

Unfortunately, despite Bart typically being very diligent regarding avoiding potential scams, he wasn't aware that Thumbtack was full of dog training scammers. He was of the belief that all reviews had to come from verified customers, and that he was simply hiring a well-reviewed trainer named "Lilly" from a company called "Wagging Good".

Lilly's real name is Josephine Ragland. She is already wanted in northern California for the death of another dog in her care, where she allegedly allowed a German Shepherd to die while being trained, and then returned a different German Shepherd to the owner, claiming it was the same dog.

She then ran off and set up shop in Massachusetts, where Bart currently lives. Charlie was supposed to live with her for 2 weeks and receive professional training. Instead, Ragland allegedly didn't train or feed him, and Charlie died on September 4. Rather than admit that Charlie died in her care, Ragland told Bart that he was simply missing -- until his emaciated body was found 115 miles away -- clearly driven there by Ragland and dumped.

Most obnoxiously, she sent updates regarding the training of Charlie after September 4, pretending he was still alive.

She is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation in both California and Massachusetts.

Embedded Tweet

https://twitter.com/BartHanson/status/1707608634455109936


In addition to the USA Today article linked above, there's an article from local media where he lives, where you can see Bart being interviewed.

I feel awful for Bart in this situation. He finally got a dog, only to have his new pet killed by a scammer who simply collected the money and let the dog waste away.

Apparently Thumbtack is full of dog training scams, where people don't actually do any training (nor have any qualifications to do so), and then return the pet as if it were trained. But this one took it to the next level, where the woman apparently just completely neglected (or abused?) the dogs, and let them die.

Here is a picture of Josephine Ragland:




You can find a Facebook group about Ragland, created by the owner of the German Shepherd here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3684010155160812/

[Dan Druff]

By the way, please do NOT troll in this thread, even if you don't like Bart or his politics.

This is a serious and sad matter, so please keep the postings on topic. Thank you.

[aayjay]

As Bart sees these posts on occasion, I just wanted to give my condolences, evil bitch. Thank you for getting the story out to hopefully prevent this same situation with this same woman or another similar situation with another similar evil bitch.

[Dan Druff]

[splitthis]

Sending a dog away for training is a stupid idea. A lazy idea.

[Dan Druff]

And yes, as with so many shady things in life, there's a gambling connection.

Reportedly she left Charlie at home alone for long periods of time to gamble at Foxwoods.

So basically it looks like this chick was just taking these dog training gigs to fund her gambling habit, and then neglecting the dogs to where they end up dying.

Awful woman.

[Dan Druff]

Her business license got revoked on September 11, 2023 in Rhode Island.

I don't think it has to do with this matter, because she hadn't admitted yet that the dog was gone: https://business.sos.ri.gov/CorpWeb/...&SEARCH_TYPE=1

[Dan Druff]

Here are various social media posts from the past, regarding Josie/Josephine/Lilly Ragland killing the other dog and returning a different dog to the owner:

https://www.facebook.com/tigerranger...2j34fwoCDbxPFl

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7188321367480356142

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7196025722597641514

[Dan Druff]

[BetCheckBet]

Feel horrible for Bart can only imagine how bad he feels. It’s very difficult to vet these people. Dog trainers have become a new venture for scammers since the pandemic hit. With explosion in pet population and limited boarding services it’s become very profitable. There are very lax regulations and limited legal liability for negligence.

I board my animals regularly so it doesn’t phase me now. But I remember how emotional I felt the first time I had to do it and worries that my pets wouldn’t be treated properly.

[country978]

I'm sorry for your loss, Bart. Charlie didn't deserve this. Thank you for sharing this story.

[Texter]

Have Tankazoo pay her a personal visit.

She deserves a beating.

[Jayjami]

Have Tankazoo pay her a personal visit.

She deserves a beating.

Agreed. In this case, an exception to violence against women is merited. My condolences Bart.

[NickyPipes]

I am very sorry to see this bad news. RIP

[Mission146]

SplitThis should know how hard training is. All these years and that bitch isn’t even paper trained yet.

[gut]

I bet Bart wouldn't use thumbtack for a financial advisor.

But I'm sure he really loved the pup...

[Dan Druff]

Well, this thread is turning to shit, just as I feared it would.

Come on, guys. Think of this happening to a dog you loved, and think of how upset you'd be. Would you want someone trolling you about it, just because they disagree with your politics?

I've gotten to know Bart over the past several years. He's a nice guy, has a good reputation in poker, and is well liked. Yes, he has some differing political opinions from mine, but I don't let that bother me, nor does it bother him. Politics don't define the person.

I also don't blame him for hiring a dog trainer. You can tell him he should have trained the dog himself, but there's no shame in hiring a professional to do it. Actual professional dog trainers can be very helpful, and have methods which will work better than amateurs doing home training.

In this case, he was tricked by a major flaw in Thumbtack, where the "reviews" are not necessarily by paying customers. You'd think they'd only allow reviews by those who have paid through the app for the services contracted, but apparently anyone can just make fake accounts and review themselves, which is awful. He had (understandably) assumed the reviews had to be real on an app like that.

So Bart thought he was hiring a woman with 22/22 positive reviews, when in reality she was a scammer with a gambling addiction.

He's obviously devastated over this matter, and misses his dog tremendously. Let's show some compassion here.

[Dan Druff]

I have removed various shit/off-topic posts here. I asked for no trolling in this thread, and that's the way it will stay.

I left up the first splitthis post, but that's it. This thread wasn't meant for Bart's detractors to have a way to kick him during a tough time.

And if you want to fight about other shit, or bitch about other PFA members not being banned/restricted, do it elsewhere on the site.

[Dan Druff]

[FRANKRIZZO]

One sick puppy. My dog is a dashund, mix 2 years old. Sometimes goes a week or more without doing business in house then pees and poops . Always does it in same hallway. I always take him out and then a few minutes later.... Just untrainable. Oh well.