A prominent animal trainer and his girlfriend have been arrested on accusations that at least 10 dogs died and were cremated while under their care, and now an investigation is underway to determine the causes of death.
Thursday night, Irvine police arrested 53-year-old Kwong “Tony” Chun Sit of Irvine, and his girlfriend, 23-year-old Tingfeng Liu of Vista, on allegations of animal cruelty and destruction of evidence.
Chun Sit worked as an animal trainer in the area, and became the subject of an investigation after a pet owner contacted the Irvine Police Department to report that their dog died in its sleep while in his care and was cremated without their knowledge.
The Police Department’s Animal Services Unit began investigating and learned that at least 10 dogs had died under similar circumstances while in Chun Sit’s care.
The bodies of several dogs were recovered at local crematoriums and necropsies are being conducted to determine how the dogs died.
“Our priority is determining if the death of the dogs was accidental or intentional,” police officials wrote in a news release Friday.
The deaths and their disposal at the crematoriums are considered suspicious, police said, which led to Chun Sit and his girlfriend being arrested.
Both have been booked at Orange County Jail to await charges.
The investigation remains ongoing and police are continuing to collect evidence related to the case. Detectives believe that Chun Sit worked with pet owners across Southern California using different company names, including “Happy K9 Academy.”
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact Irvine Police Department Detective Rebecca Steen by email.
