A Palo Alto police report, obtained exclusively by NBC Bay Area's Investigative Unit, reveals disturbing details about the California probe of a dog trainer charged in the disappearance of a Peninsula German shepherd and linked to the death of a French bulldog in North Reading, Massachusetts.
The Palo Alto Police Department launched an investigation early this year into Josephine Ragland, 28, after Carolina Bruchilari reported that a dog trainer, she hired through Thumbtack had not returned Scott, her 7-year-old purebred German shepherd on the scheduled date and attempted to return an imposter instead.
On that same day, Bruchilari says Ragland left behind the AirTag that was originally hanging from Scott’s collar.
On Jan. 2, when Ragland was supposed to return Scott to his family in Palo Alto, Ragland texted the owner, saying she had a family emergency, had to leave the dog with a third party and couldn’t facilitate the return, said Bruchilari when NBC Bay Area first interviewed her in January.
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Investigators now say that on the day Ragland was supposed to return Scott, she was busy dropping off and picking up five other dogs from clients all over the Bay Area and passing through Palo Alto, where Bruchilari lives.
Another dog owner, who was also interviewed by police, shared a Ring camera video of that same day showing who appears to be Ragland picking up their dog in the North Bay.
Palo Alto’s report said that investigators reviewed Ragland’s activities around the time she was hired to train Scott, between Dec. 2022 and Jan. 2023 by tracking her phone location, Google accounts, Venmo, Zelle and bank transactions.
This is how they discovered that on the day Ragland did not return Scott. She was actively searching, for what police call “Scott’s substitute,” by sending a “flurry of emails” responding to Craigslist posters who advertised German Shepherds up for adoption.
The very next day, the report states Ragland traveled some 800 miles to Seattle, Washington to pick up the imposter dog and then back to Palo Alto. The Craigslist poster later told police that Ragland arrived solo in a black Tesla and had no idea she intended to give the dog to someone else.
This version of events contradicts what Bruchilari says Ragland told her about the substitute dog when she confronted her.
“She told me that she didn't know that it was another dog, that this man gave her another dog," said Bruchilari.
A Humboldt County police report from January indicated that Ragland's boyfriend had come forward, saying Scott was under his care and had broken through a window, leaving a blood trail. He also asked to take the charges linked to his disappearance.
According to the Palo Alto report, the boyfriend promised to send a picture of the broken window to police, but never did. Humboldt County told NBC Bay Area's Investigative Unit that they did not verify the story before forwarding the information to Palo Alto police.
In their report, Palo Alto detectives suggest Ragland and her boyfriend were keeping the dogs in Myers Flat in Humboldt County, more than four hours north of the Peninsula.
During a two-month period, Ragland allegedly took in 18 dogs, charging over $2,700 each for two weeks of training, continuing her business as usual even after Scott disappeared.
Clients reported to police and NBC Bay Area that Ragland refused to disclose her training location because of safety concerns, and those who did get their pets back say they received emaciated and visibly neglected dogs.
The Palo Alto report also notes that Ragland had expanded her dog training business to the East Coast under a different name.
In September, Ragland was charged with larceny and misleading police after a Massachusetts French Bulldog died in her care. She has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
In both states, clients told police and NBC Bay Area, they hired Ragland through the online service advertising app Thumbtack because she was verified, had a high rating and dozens of great reviews.
Thumbtack removed Ragland’s profile five days after the initial complaint from Bruchilari and told police they refunded some of Ragland’s clients. But they required them to sign non-disclosure agreements as a condition, something authorities said caused some hesitancy in working with law enforcement, according to the police report.
In a statement, Thumbtack in part said, they were able to verify Ragland’s prior reviews, meaning they were able to confirm they came from genuine Thumbtack customers, and added, "[They] actively encourage all affected customers to speak to the police [and] reached out to those who had engaged with Ragland [going back six months] to let them know she had been banned and that they should not work with her.”
Investigators suggest a possible motive for Ragland's actions, citing at least 10 visits to the Bear River Casino in Loleta during her stay in California, where they say she gambled thousands of dollars during the two-month period.
Police in the East Coast case also noted Ragland's admission of "issues with gambling."
Ragland now faces multiple theft felonies and a warrant for her arrest was issued in Santa Clara County on Nov. 10.
Despite the extensive investigation, the missing German Shepherd has not been located. The Palo Alto Police Department emphasize that the time taken for the investigation is not uncommon and the search for the dog continues.
