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Irvine’s animal trainer and his girlfriend were arrested Thursday night after police tied the couple to the deaths of at least 10 dogs.
Irvine police say Kuwun “Tony” Chunsit, 53, of Irvine, has been arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty and destruction of evidence. SIT’s girlfriend, Tingfeng Liu, 23, of Vista, was arrested on the same charges.
Before 5:30pm on Wednesday, the pet owner contacted the Irvine Police Station and reported that the dog trainer had died while his dog was sleeping and cremated.
“One family reached out to us [and] I thought it was a bit suspicious that their healthy dog had passed away with this trainer,” said Kyle Alderp, a spokesperson for the Irvine Police Department.
Irvine police detectives arrested Irvine’s Kuon “Tony” Chunsit, left, Sit’s girlfriend, Vista’s girlfriend, 23, right, on suspicion of animal abuse and destruction of evidence.
(Irvine police)
The department’s Animal Services Unit began an investigation and soon realized it wasn’t a single dog. The tally has risen to 10, with officials looking for more potential victims.
One dog passed away last week, was cremated and now has a body with his family, Oldoerp said.
According to Oldoerp, nine other dogs appeared to have died on Wednesday or around the time.
The deceased dog was taken to multiple crematoriums, and Old Elp said he believes police can retrieve all their bodies.
Irvine police said they needed them to work with veterinarian experts to determine how their dog died.
“If they all died of accidental addiction, or all the same thing, it could be, maybe this is accidental,” Old Elp said. “But if that’s not the case and it’s a different cause, it could take us on a different path.”
If the death is deemed contingent, that does not mean that the charge will be removed.
Oldoerp compared the situation to a parent who puts their children in the car and endangers their child’s welfare without malicious intent.
“He is still responsible for the well-being of these animals,” he said.
Oldoerp added that the couple apparently tried to destroy the evidence by trying to cremate the dog.
According to Irvine Police, SIT worked across Southern California under various company names, including “Happy K9 Academy.”
The owner of a dog that appears to have died while caring for SIT went to Instagram to seek the dog’s justice.
Aimee Gutierrez said on Instagram that her family rescued 9 months old Belgian Marinoa from Pond three weeks ago and named her saint. According to a post on Thursday, they sent the saint to the trainer, but were informed by text that she had passed away.
“The saint would be better,” she wrote. “She was supposed to go back to life of love, safety, a second chance. I would never stop fighting for her.
Anyone with information related to the case or whose dog has died from caring for a trainer will be asked to contact rteen@cityofirvine.org
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