Barry Myrick barked mal.
The pest control professional is in a fight with his former employer, M&M Environmental in Queens, over his loyal partner – a pit bull mix named Bedbug, Roxy.
“She’s my best friend,” says Myrick, who even has a Roxy tattoo on his leg. “I committed to her a long time ago, and nothing is going to happen between me and her.”
Myrick, 37, worked with Roxy for four years, researching commercial and residential properties before being fired from the company in March.
Although the dog provided M&M, which covers her food and veterinary bills, she lives with Myrick and his wife, Joana, as he went to pick up Roxy at a dog training facility in Florida. (M&M paid for her training.)
The couple has been inseparable ever since – enjoying hiking trails to Bear Mountain and vacations in Woodstock. “She is part of our family. It is the closest we will have to children, ”said Myrick, who has no plans to have children.
But things got boring when, not long after the pandemic began, he chose to be fired rather than work for M&M as a COVID cleaner without Roxy. He returned his commercial vehicle, credit cards and equipment, but not his partner for the puppy. He explained that a manager told him, “You’re going to keep Roxy, aren’t you?”
On June 25, M&M sent a letter to Myrick calling the dog “company property” and demanding that she be returned immediately. When Myrick refused, M&M took legal action by reporting that Roxy had been stolen and the Queens District Attorney’s Office led Myrick to file charges of serious misconduct.
Myrick still refuses to give up Roxy and surrenders to the NYPD in August. ‘I spent 15 hours in jail. I would not wish it on my biggest enemy, ”said Myrick, who shared a cell with about 20 others. ‘The stories I heard were unreal – someone hit their stepfather with a baseball bat. I could not tell anyone that I was there for a puppy. ‘
M&M told The Post in a statement that the company always intends to hire Myrick and that managers expect him to work again by June.
But Myrick moved from Brooklyn to Philadelphia in May, saying he would not have left the city if he had believed he would get his job back.
He admitted to The Post that in 2016 he signed a contract stating that “if I were to be terminated or no longer work there, I would have to give Roxy back.” But he claims that M&M forfeited his claim to her when the company fired him and did not ask her.
‘When they left the dog with him in March, [M&M] made no arrangement … to get the dog or to pay for the dog in the meantime, ”said Myrick’s attorney, William J. Kurtz.
For now, a Queens judge – referring to previous rulings on the divorce case – leaves Myrick Roxy until the case is settled. However, M&M said Roxy is a working dog and this is a case of ownership, not supervision.
M&M attorney Gary Port said the company owned Roxy under the 2016 contract and noted that training a dog like her could cost $ 15,000. “My client did not give a gift of $ 15,000 to this man.”
Port added that it could set a dangerous precedent for Myrick to retain Roxy: “Maybe he’s attached to Roxy – maybe he wants to start his own business.”
“That’s the last thing I think about,” Myrick, who is currently collecting unemployment, replied, adding that he understood the company’s concerns. ‘My only concern is not to be separated from her. I am not starting a competitive business in a pandemic without money. ”
Myrick insists that Roxy, who comes from a difficult background, will not link up with another coach. “She’s not a golden retriever who would be happy with just about anyone,” he said. “She has eyes for no one else.”
Loved ones tried to convince him to walk away. “My family said, ‘Give the dog back, you’ve got another one,’ ‘recalls a defiant Myrick. ‘But I emptied my bank account and spent time in jail. . . what else can they throw at me? I will fight it to the end. ”
