Irvine dog trainer and his girlfriend arrested after 10 dogs died in their care, police say

IRVINE, Calif. (CNS) — An Irvine animal trainer and his girlfriend were arrested Thursday after 10 dogs died while in their care, police said Saturday.

Detectives from the Irvine Police Department arrested Kwong (Tony) Chun Sit, 53, of Irvine, for animal cruelty and destruction of evidence and Sit’s girlfriend, Tingfeng Liu, 23 of Vista, was arrested for the same charges, said Kyle Oldoerp of the Irvine Police Department.

On Wednesday at 5:25 p.m., the IPD was contacted by a pet owner who reported that they had received a message from their dog trainer saying their dog had died in its sleep and had been cremated, police said.

The department’s Animal Services Unit and patrol officers immediately began investigating the circumstances and in the initial stages, it was determined that at least 10 dogs had died in the trainer’s care, Oldoerp said.

IPD quickly recovered multiple dogs at different crematoriums.

Detectives believe Sit worked with pet owners across Southern California under different company names, including “Happy K9 Academy,” police said.

“We are working closely with veterinary professionals who will perform necropsies to determine how the dogs died. Our priority is determining if the deaths of the dogs was accidental or intentional,” Oldoerp said.

Based on suspicious activity after the incident, including the attempted cremation of the dogs, Chun and Liu were arrested and both were booked at Orange County Jail, police said.

The investigation is ongoing, and detectives continue to gather evidence and information.

Anyone who has been notified of their dog’s sudden passing while in Sit’s care or has information related to this case, was urged to contact rsteen@cityofirvine.org.

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