Irvine animal trainer sentenced to nearly 12 years for the deaths of 11 dogs in his care
A 54-year-old animal trainer has been sentenced to 11 years and 10 months in prison for the deaths of 11 dogs and cremating their remains to cover up how they died, as the pet owners had entrusted him with the care of their dogs.
Kwong "Tony" Chun Sit was charged with 11 counts of animal cruelty, seven misdemeanor counts of attempting to destroy evidence, and one misdemeanor count of destroying evidence.
"Quite frankly, I don't think 11 years is enough, not at all, not even a little bit," victim pet owner, Amy Gutierrez said following the sentencing.
Prosecutors said the 11 dogs died of heat stroke after Sit, who operated Happy K9 Academy, left them in a hot van in June 2025. In addition to heat stroke, a necropsy for one of the dogs added blunt force trauma as the animal's cause of death.
After the dogs died, Sit sent a text to the owners and evidence revealed that the texts sent to two different owners were nearly identical, except for the dogs' names.
"I'm so sorry to let you know that Luna passed away peacefully during the night while resting," a text message sent to one of the owners read. "There were no signs of pain or struggle, and it was truly unexpected. I am deeply saddened by this loss. Out of respect, I will offer compensation. Luna has been lovingly cremated."
The Irvine Police Department began investigating Sit shortly after the owners shared the text messages with officers. Prosecutors said that Sit impersonated the pets' owners to have the dogs' remains cremated.
His girlfriend Tingfeng Liu helped by dropping off the dogs' bodies at different crematoriums in an apparent attempt to avoid suspicion, according to prosecutors.
Liu, 24, was sentenced to three years in prison after a jury found her guilty of one count of being an accessory to a felony, one misdemeanor count of destruction of evidence and two misdemeanor counts of destruction of evidence.
"I can't imagine it ever happening again, but it can. But as a society, we have to make sure that it doesn't," victim dog owner Chris Davis said following the sentencing. "He deserves every day that he got, and that he hopefully will come to some type of epiphany. But I don't think he has yet."
