RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Several dog owners have contacted Wake County Animal Control with concerns since the arrest of dog trainer Charisma Johnston, according to Wake County Animal Services Director Dr. Jennifer Federico. Johnston, 22, was arrested on five counts of animal cruelty charges in Wendell on Tuesday. Michelle Robison is one of the dog owners who has contacted animal control. She thought her golden doodle Remi died in Johnston's care, but now said she's not sure what to believe since Johnston's arrest. Dog owners share concerns after trainer is arrested for animal cruelty in North Carolina Robison said one day before she was supposed to pick Remi up from training in Tennessee, Johnston said Remi was in a car accident. The next day Johnston said Remi did not survive. This was about one month ago. Robison said she has not received any ashes. "This was my kids' family pet, this was their Christmas gift I had gotten for them," Robison said. "I worked really hard to get this for them, and now I had to tell my kids their dog is dead, and now their dog's possibly not dead, and it's just very confusing for us all." Remi. (Courtesy of Michelle Robison) Robison is the second dog owner to tell CBS 17 Johnston told them their dog was hit by a car or in an accident and was cremated. Robison said Johnston told her she's mailing the ashes. Dr. Federico said the investigation began after animal control in Tennessee reached out to them. She said she believes the home Johnston was arrested at is a family member's. The five dogs are receiving treatment at the Wake County Animal Center. She said the biggest thing is giving them appropriate nutrition. "Some of them were definitely underweight. Most concerning was the puppy, very underweight and covered in feces," Dr. Federico said. "The kennels were covered in feces. These were not cared for or being cared for at the time." Dr. Federico said part of the investigation is finding out who the dogs current owners are, as she said a lot of people have reached out claiming to be the dogs' owners. Deidra Peterson also contacted Wake County Animal Control. She decided to pick up her dog Rome from Johston after she reached out to animal control in Tennessee to conduct a wellness check and she said the animal control officer told her that her dog was severely underweight and had a leg injury. "When I picked him up, I was devastated," Peterson said. "And then when I saw his foot, he didn't wag his tail for a good week or seem like he was happy. It was awful. He wasn't normal." She said she was too upset at the time to ask Johnston what happened, and didn't realize the full extent until bringing Rome to the vet. "He had chewed off one of his toes and they found it in his stomach from the X-ray," Peterson said. CBS 17 has made multiple attempts to reach Johnston and ask her about what the dog owners told CBS 17, as well as the charges against her. CBS 17 has not heard back as of Friday night. Dr. Federico said anyone with relevant information about Johnston or the dogs should reach out to Wake County Animal Control Supervisor Clarence Kinley at [email protected] or call Wake Co. dispatch and ask to speak to Kinley. She said people living in other states can reach out because Wake Co. is working with multiple counties and states. "We're just trying to all work together at the end of the day to advocate for these dogs," said Dr. Federico. "Obviously this is bigger than what we anticipated when we first got out there." Dr. Federico urges everyone to do research before working with a dog trainer, especially if they'll be sending their dog there. She said in North Carolina, boarding facilities do need to register with the Department of Agriculture, but board and train facilities do not.