East Bay jogger kills 15-pound pug with a kick

Mei Fun, a 2-year-old pug, died after she was kicked by a jogger in Kensington on Saturday. Mei Fun, a 2-year-old pug, died after she was kicked by a jogger in Kensington on Saturday. Photo: Courtesy / Stephanie Lisi Photo: Courtesy / Stephanie Lisi Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close East Bay jogger kills 15-pound pug with a kick 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A pug is dead, and dueling versions of the events that led to the dog’s demise are playing out in the East Bay enclave of Kensington, according to police.

Just before 10 a.m. Saturday, Stephanie Lisi, a 53-year-old nurse, was walking with two of the diminutive dogs as she cut through Kensington Hilltop Elementary School at the end of a hike on a nearby trail, she said.

Against regulations, neither of the dogs was on a leash, said Sgt. Rickey Hull, a police spokesman, though Lisi said she was trying to put one of the dogs on a leash when the incident occurred.

A man, presumably out for a morning jog, came quickly around the corner of the building running in the opposite direction of the dog owner. One the dogs ran toward the man, he told police, and he kicked the dog to get away from it.

“The dog fell over and died,” Hull said.

Lisi, however, says otherwise. According to her, the 15-pound, 2-year-old dog named Mei Fun was returning to her when the man went out of his way to kick it.

“She was running on his left. I called her, and she was coming back to me when he kicked her and she just dropped,” Lisi said. “He could have just kept running.”

The man went to the front of the school to find someone with a cell phone and called police, Hull said, but there are conflicting statements from both parties as to how hard the dog was kicked.

No one else was present when the incident occurred, and police did not identify the jogger.

“He told police he just tapped her,” Lisi said. “But he needs to be held accountable for his actions.”

The dog was taken to a veterinarian for cremation, but no necropsy was performed.

The case was being forwarded to the Contra Costa County district attorney’s office for further review, Hull said.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale