Dog trainer sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison after dogs die in hot van

U.S. newsDog trainer sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison after dogs die in hot vanKwong Chun Sit, of Irvine, had the dogs cremated to try and cover up how the animals, which were kept in crates in the hot vehicle, died, prosecutors said.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00Kwong Chun Sit is escorted by an Orange County Sheriff on the day of his sentencing for animal cruelty charges after 11 dogs died in his care, in Orange County, Calif. on Friday.KNBCShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJuly 10, 2026, 8:10 PM EDTBy Phil HelselA Southern California trainer who had 11 dogs die in a hot van and then tried to have them cremated and lied to owners was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison Friday, officials said.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Kwong Chun Sit, 54, of Irvine, was arrested in June 2025 and convicted last month of 11 counts of felony animal cruelty and other counts, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.Sit, who went by the first name Tony, operated Happy K9 Academy and the dogs were under his care when they were kept in crates in a hot van and died, the district attorney’s office said.One died of blunt force trauma and heat stroke, eight others died of heat stroke, and two of the dogs had been cremated and there was no cause of death, the office said.Sit sent one of the owners a text that read: “I’m so sorry to let you know that Miko passed away peacefully during the night while resting. There were no signs of pain or struggle, and it was truly unexpected. I am deeply saddened by this loss,” according to the district attorney’s office. Miko had been cremated and the owner went to Irvine police who started an investigation, officials said. Sit was sentenced to 11 years and 10 months in prison.He was convicted of 11 felony counts of animal cruelty, of seven misdemeanor counts of attempting to destroy evidence, and one misdemeanor count of destroying evidence, the office...