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7th victim alleges dog suffered under care of Pawsitively Paradise's Nikki Camerlengo

Alexandra Bruce showed WPTV photos her dog Otis with severe lacerations and puncture wounds to the brain in 2022

A seventh family filed a police report against Nikki Camerlengo of Pawsitively Paradise alleging their dog suffered in the Palm City dog trainer's care two years ago.

By: Kate Hussey

Posted at 12:05 PM, Jun 27, 2024

PALM CITY, Fla. — A seventh family filed a police report against Nikki Camerlengo of Pawsitively Paradise alleging their dog suffered in the Palm City dog trainer's care two years ago.

Camerlengo, a dog trainer, boarder and groomer, was arrested June 19th on one felony county of animal cruelty for the death of at least one dog Martin County deputies say suffered blunt force trauma in her care.

Her arrest came after WPTV heard the heartbreaking stories of six families who alleged their dogs either died or were injured in Camerlengo dating back to 2014.

We also previously found Camerlengo was cited eight times for improper care of animals in 2022 and lied about multiple dog training certifications she advertised on her website.

Alexandra and Christopher Bruce sat down with WPTV's Kate Hussey at their Jensen Beach home to discuss these latest allegations and said they connected with Camerlengo back in 2022 for training for their two shelties.

Nikki Camerlengo was arrested by authorities in Fort Pierce on June 19, 2024.

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Alexandra Bruce said once she felt comfortable with Camerlengo, she started boarding their dogs with her and saw no red flags.

"She came to the house a few times, seemed sweet," Bruce said.

They said the dogs boarded with Camerlengo three times and each time, Camerlengo would come to her house, pick the dogs up, then bring them back home once they returned.

The Bruces said on the third time, which was July 22, 2022, Camerlengo brought the dogs back to the Jensen Beach home as usual.

However, when their Sheltie, named Otis, got out of the van and into the house, the Bruces said they saw blood on the floor which seemed to be coming from Otis' leg.

When they looked closer, they said they saw two large lacerations.

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"It looked fairly deep and fairly jagged, so we took him to the emergency vet," said Christoper Bruce.

According to veterinary records that the Bruces provided to the Sheriff's office, the veterinarian who treated Otis said the wounds were "more extensive" than he anticipated. He described a wound on Otis' right side, which required a drain, and second wound just behind the rib, which was about 30 centimeters wide.

He also observed a puncture wound to the brain.

He believed the wounds to be about 24 hours old.

"We asked the vet, 'Could it have been a dog bite, or a tear from a fence?' It was inconclusive, they couldn't really tell us but they didn't believe it was a dog bite," said Alexandra Bruce.

"I don't know what happened, but this does not look like an accident," added Christopher Bruce. "It's a horrific incident, we were saying a horrific accident, but it's a horrific incident."

Bruce took and kept photos of Otis' injuries, which she provided to WPTV and the Martin County Sheriff's Office. We blurred the photos because they're too graphic to show.

Bruce also said when she asked Camerlengo what happened, Camerlengo told them she "never noticed any injuries" and "didn't know what could have happened."

Detectives said due to the time-lapse and the fact Camerlengo denied any wrongdoing or knowledge, Otis' case may not be able to be used in court due to insufficient evidence.

"What do you hope comes out of this?" asked Hussey.

"Our desire is that Nikki is no longer able to care for other people's dogs, and I don't even think she should have pets of her own at this point," said Christopher Bruce.

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