SANTA ANA, Calif. () — Pet owners whose dogs died while in the care of an Irvine dog training business delivered emotional testimony in a Santa Ana courtroom before the sentencing of Happy K-9 Academy owner Tony Sit and his girlfriend, Tingfeng Liu.
“My family will never be the same,” pet owner Amy Caramanzana told the court.
Sit was charged with 11 counts of felony animal cruelty after 11 dogs died while under his care. Authorities said many of the dogs died from extreme heat, while one died from blunt force trauma.
Pet owner Chris Davis described the impact of the case during the hearing.
“This last year was horror. And today, with this sentencing, we hope to get some type of positive out of it,” Davis said.
Owners spoke about the loss of their pets and questions that remain about their final moments.
“We wonder what she endured, whether she was afraid, whether she cried for us, whether spent her final moments believing we had abandoned her,” Caramanzana said.
According to prosecutors, in one case a pet owner said Sit sent them a text message stating that a dog had died peacefully, but a later necropsy determined the animal died from heatstroke.
Prosecutors said the dogs were kept in small cages inside a van.
During sentencing, Judge Kim Menninger addressed the circumstances on behalf of the pet owners.
“Were they always expecting the dogs to be inside of a van? I would certainly think not. Certainly not a man that had no air conditioning or water or any ability for these animals to be treated like animals,” Menninger said.
Sit and Liu were also accused of attempting to conceal what happened by taking several of the dogs to be cremated, preventing owners from learning the cause of death, according to statements made in court.
Near the end of the hearing, Sit addressed the court and disputed the allegations regarding the conditions in which the dogs were housed.
“The dogs were staying in an air-conditioned space,” said a translator on behalf of Sit. “And I made sure that before I went to bed, I checked the air conditioner. It was working all right. But then there was a power outage. I found out only the next day.”
Sit was sentenced to 11 years and ten months in state prison. Liu was sentenced to three years in state prison.
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