Police announced the detention of the 39-year-old, identified only by the surname Li, on June 10 in a statement that spread quickly online, urging residents to "care for living creatures" and to jointly safeguard public order, Bloomberg reported.
Local authorities had said a day earlier that they opened a case and sent three puppies found in the man's home to a veterinarian.
What set the case apart, and what drove the public reaction, was the method. According to the BBC, the man advertised on the social app Douyin early this month offering to take in dogs for free, telling owners his two children adored puppies.
Hong Kong outlet HK01 reported that he and his wife had spent months building trust inside Chongqing's pet-rescue groups, presenting themselves as an experienced, stable family so volunteers would hand over animals without payment.
The case broke open in early June when a volunteer who had given the man a white puppy returned to her holding site to find the litter's mother beaten to death. On June 6, neighbors filmed him apparently abusing a dog on his apartment balcony.
