A necropsy performed by a Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA veterinarian has shown that a young Bichon Frise died of starvation before it was stuffed in a shoe box with a small plush toy and a towel and dumped near Palmetto Avenue in Pacifica. 26-year-old San Francisco man Kun Sun has been charged with felony animal cruelty as he was tracked down as the dog's owner, its original owner having moved to China six months ago.

The severely underweight corpse of the dog was suspicious, and a sample of the animal's femur was sent to a lab for bone marrow fat analysis. Though normal bone marrow fat content is 59.4% or higher, the sample from contained just 1.2% fat. Nothing was in the dog's stomach, and it was concluded that it had been confined denied food for up to two weeks.

A microchip implanted in the dog indicated its name was “Penny” and had an owner living in San Francisco, which led police to Sun. The Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA presented its materials and findings to the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, who brought the charges against Sun.

“Complete disregard for the health and wellbeing of an animal is criminal,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a release. “If you cannot care for a pet you have an obligation to contact authorities and ensure the animal does not suffer.”

“We cannot begin to imagine the suffering this dog experienced,” said Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA President Ken White. “The only positive we can take from this is knowing the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office treats animal abuse cases as seriously as we do.”

Sun has pled not guilty and been released on his own recognizance. However, the court has required him to report to Supervised Pretrial Release twice weekly, and at the request of ADA Christopher Nemetz, Sun can't possess any animals.