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A second woman has been arrested in connection with the death of a dog earlier this month.
Josephine Ragland, 28, of Haddam, turned herself in on Monday, according to state police.
An arrest warrant states that Ragland had a business posted on a website advertising boarding and training services through her business “Wagging Good.”
Ragland allegedly charged between $1,000 and $2,500 to pick up dogs from peoples’ homes and bring them back to Jaqueline Witt’s, where she left them in crates. Witt was arrested earlier this month.
According to authorities, the two women were caring for a French bulldog on Sept. 4, 2023 when he died under Witt’s supervision. Ragland didn’t tell the owners about their dog’s death and instead continued to send updates about his progress in training, according to the warrant.
The warrant says they had five dogs in her care at that time. They kept the dog’s body in a trash bag in a sunroom next to the other dogs they were caring for, police said.
After about 10 days, Witt eventually buried the dog’s body on Canterbury Turnpike in Norwichtown, the warrant states.
The dog’s owner contacted police when her dog wasn’t returned on the agreed upon date. During the investigation, Ragland and Witt told police multiple different stories about what happened to the dog and where he was located.
Ragland later claimed that Witt told her the dog got out of an outdoor enclosure and was hit by a car. However, investigators believe the dog wasn’t fed in their care and he may have had a heat stroke, the warrant states.
The other dogs in Ragland’s and Witt’s care were in poor condition and were skinnier than when they were dropped off, according to the warrant. They also returned to their owners with “psychological and/or physical illnesses.”
A necropsy performed on the dog that died showed that he was emaciated with “severe prominence of ribs, vertebrae and scapulae.” Part of the dog’s skin had “multiple areas of pale and red discoloration,” the warrant states.
Ragland was charged with four counts of cruelty to animals. She was released on $50,000 bond and is scheduled to be in court on Sept. 30.
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