An Irvine animal trainer and his girlfriend were arrested Thursday night after police connected the couple to the death of at least 10 dogs — with nine believed to have perished on a single day.
Kwong “Tony” Chun Sit, 53, of Irvine, was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty and destruction of evidence, according to the Irvine Police Department. Sit’s girlfriend, Tingfeng Liu, 23, of Vista, was arrested on suspicion of the same charges.
Shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a pet owner reached out to the Irvine Police Department to report that their dog trainer sent a message saying their dog had died in its sleep and had been cremated, according to a news release.
“The one family reached out to us [and] thought it was kind of suspicious that their healthy dog died with this trainer,” said Kyle Oldoerp, a spokesperson for the Irvine Police Department.
Irvine police detectives arrested Kwong “Tony” Chun Sit, 53, of Irvine, left, and Sit’s girlfriend, Tingfeng Liu, 23, of Vista, right, on suspicion of animal cruelty and destruction of evidence.
(Irvine Police)
The department’s Animal Services Unit began investigating and quickly realized it wasn’t a single dog. The tally rose to 10, and officials are searching for more potential victims.
One dog died last week and was cremated, with the remains now with the family, Oldoerp said.
It appears nine other dogs died on or around Wednesday, according to Oldoerp.
The deceased dogs were taken to multiple crematoriums and Oldoerp said he believed police were able to retrieve all of their bodies.
Irvine police said they are working with veterinary professionals to perform necropsies to determine how the dogs died.
“If they all died of an accidental poisoning, or something that was all the same, then it’s like, OK, maybe this is accidental,” Oldoerp said. “But if it’s not, and they’re different causes, then that could take us down a different path.”
Even if the deaths are determined to be accidental, it doesn’t mean the charges will be dropped.
Oldoerp likened the situation to a parent endangering a child’s welfare by leaving them in a car — without malicious intent.
“He’s still responsible for the well-being of these animals,” he said.
Oldoerp added that it appears the couple sought to destroy evidence by attempting to cremate the dogs.
According to Irvine police, Sit worked throughout Southern California under different company names, including “Happy K9 Academy.”
Owners of dogs that appear to have died while in Sit’s care took to Instagram to call for justice for their dogs.
Aimee Gutierrez said on Instagram that her family rescued a 9-month-old Belgian Malinois three weeks ago from the pound and named her Saint. According to a Thursday post, they sent Saint to a trainer but were informed by text that she had passed away.
“Saint deserved better,” she wrote. “She was supposed to come home to a life of love, safety and second chances. I will never stop fighting for her — and for the other animals whose voices were taken away too soon.”
Those who have information related to the case or whose dog died in the care of trainer Sit are asked to contact rsteen@cityofirvine.org
This story originally appeared on LA Times
