Two teens at a Chino Valley park called sheriff’s officials after they watched and recorded a man at a nearby apartment building pouring scalding water on a caged dog Tuesday evening, according to San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials.

“You could hear the horror in the girl’s voice when she said, ‘Oh my god, is that boiling water?’ ” said Deputy Dan Renear on Wednesday.

The teens were in Pinehurst Park around 5 p.m. when Renear said they heard a dog whimpering. The 17-year-old boy and girl looked around and spotted the caged dog on the third-story balcony of a nearby apartment building. That’s when Renear said the pair saw a man, later identified as 22-year-old Enping Qu, use a tea kettle to pour water over his girlfriend’s dog.

Renear and a trainee, Dominic Ramirez, tracked down the right unit at the apartment in the 16000 block of Butterfield Ranch Road.

Qu, who spoke very limited English, allowed the deputies into the apartment, where they found the dog, still wet and warm, in the cage in the balcony.

Using Google translator on their phones, deputies learned the dog belonged to Qu’s girlfriend, who was at school, Renear said.

As Ramirez spoke to Qu, Renear spotted an electric tea kettle on a warming plate that had been turned off.

“But when I touched it, that thing was still scorching hot. I couldn’t even put my hand on it,” he said.

Because the complex is fairly new and doesn’t show up on all maps, Renear said it took Inland Valley Humane Society officers a little more than an hour to arrive at the complex.

“But even after an hour and a half or an hour and 15 minutes, when they tested the water — even after all that time — it was 129 degrees,” Renear said.

Detectives learned Qu poured hot water on the dog five times, according to a sheriff’s statement.

Qu was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty and animal control officers took possession of the dog. It’s unclear if the dog will be returned to its owner, Renear said.

Records indicate Qu was released on bail.

“I’m a dog-lover and it makes you angry,” Renear said. “It was a very sweet and loving little dog.”

The case is still under investigation. Authorities ask anyone with information to call the Chino Hills sheriff’s station at 909-364-2000.