PALM CITY, Fla. — The Martin County Sheriff's Office told WPTV on Monday that the necropsy for one of the dogs sent to the University of Florida is now complete but is being reviewed by additional professionals for a second opinion.
Deputies said the dog was a 2-year-old golden doodle who died last week after four hours in the care of Pawsitively Paradise and its owner, Nikki Camerlengo, launching the agency's third investigation into the dog training and grooming facility.
Palm City
Fifth family says pet dog died at Pawsitively Paradise
The update comes as Alexis Kaclik went to the Martin County Sheriff's Office on Monday to file a report on an incident involving the dog training company in 2018.
She's the latest person to do so.
"I feel like she should be held accountable for all of these deaths and she shouldn’t be allowed to run her facility anymore," Kaclik said.
Kaclik is now the sixth person WPTV has reported on who said they have had horrific experiences with the dog training facility.
"I am beyond grateful. It could have went way worse," Kaclik said.
Kaclik said a friend recommended Camerlengo for training in 2018. After Camerlengo trained the dog for a week, Kaclik said she dropped off her dog for boarding but came back to find her dog seeming to be extremely sick and having trouble breathing.
"I just, I knew from when I picked her up something was wrong, so I had brought her into the vet and she ended up having a partially collapsed trachea," Kaclik said.
Oakley survived but still isn't back to normal nearly six years later.
"She can't wear a collar anymore," Kaclik said. "She can only wear harnesses."
Like a few others to whom WPTV spoke, Kaclik didn't keep a copy of the veterinarian records and didn't think to file a police report at the time, so it's unknown what happened.
"Obviously, this was before all these stories came out, so I was just like, well, maybe … I don't know. I don't know," Kaclik said, shaking her head. "And when I had reached out to Nikki, she got very defensive."
WPTV tried to contact Camerlengo to address these new allegations but she hasn't returned any of WPTV's calls.
Camerlengo's brother, John Camerlengo, did talk to WPTV's Kate Hussey and denied any wrongdoing in Kaclik's case.
He also told Hussey the dogs that died had pre-existing conditions, referring specifically to a retriever that died in 2022, telling WPTV the dog had pneumonia.
"You're investigating the dog murder? Nikki's been training dogs for 24 years. She's got over 1,500 people that she's dealt with (and) never (had) a dog (die) until a couple years ago."
"I'm going to push back on that a little bit because the necropsy report we have shows the dog didn't have a pre-existing condition," Hussey replied.
The necropsy report states the dog was perfectly healthy when it died, and tested negative for viral and bacterial pneumonia. Hussey showed Camerlengo that report and also asked him to address the multiple allegations of dogs dying in the facility's care going as far back as 2014.
"That's six dogs. How do you explain that?" Hussey asked.
"I think it's funny that when this dog died, all the people came out of the woodwork and said, 'Oh, I had a dog die!'" Camerlengo responded.
Martin County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy John Budensiek said he didn't think it was funny, nor a coincidence.
"There's nothing funny about this," Budensiek said. "It's unheard of, absolutely not a coincidence. We don't get these type of incidents back to back over the course of several years. Again, a lot of these witnesses are now coming out — victims are coming out — and saying, 'Hey, this happened to us also.' We know three in the last year-and-a-half, and this is not normal."
Budensiek said deputies have taken a look at the necropsy that's now complete for the dog that died last week, but he said the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which paid for the necropsy, needs some clarification before moving forward.
Palm City
Necropsies being conducted after another dog at pet groomer dies
"There are some concerns that they have within the necropsy, but they want a second opinion, so they're now working with the University of Texas and some other organizations," Budensiek said. "But in the interim, be extremely careful where you take your pet. Do not take it to Pawsitively Paradise. Period."
Kaclik said she hopes that warning hits home.
"She should have gotten in trouble from the first death, let alone, what, five or six now? That's crazy," Kaclik said. "It's going to keep happening if something doesn't happen."
Deputies are also waiting on the necropsy results for another dog they say died in the facility's care in February.
One of the other issues WPTV is tracking is a lack of checks and balances in the dog training industry.
Camerlengo has already been cited eight times for improper care of animals, and Martin County code enforcement told Hussey there is no limit to the number of citations she can get. Code enforcement doesn't have the power to pull a business license.
WPTV also learned there are no specific standards required for dog training. There are no federal or state certifications required, and thus no one is holding dog trainers accountable or enforcing humane training procedures. WPTV is working to address the problem with local legislators.