WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. — A Wayne County woman is facing felony charges of animal cruelty following an investigation led by Richmond police.
Zoranna Ullrich has been preliminarily charged with two counts of animal cruelty, both level 6 felonies. According to online court records, Ullrich was previously convicted of a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty on March 29, 2022.
On May 31, officers with the Richmond Police Department were dispatched to Green Meadows Mobile Home Park located at 4705 W. National Road for a dog-related complaint. The caller told officers that they found a dog that had its leash caught on their trampoline and could not move.
Court documents show the caller telling police that they believed the dog belonged to Ullrich and that they had tried contacting her but had not heard back.
Officers proceeded to conduct a wellness check on the dog “Enzo,” which was described as a black, brown and white male Rottweiler or German Sheperd mix by police on the scene.
“Enzo looked and felt thin and did not have very prominent muscles. Enzo’s ribs were slightly visible with an evident abdominal tuck where the abdomen appeared tucked up behind the ribcage when viewed from the side. From above, Enzo’s waist was significantly smaller than his rib cage,” said court documents.
Officers were eventually able to catch up with Ullrich who reportedly told them that her dogs got loose before changing the story and blaming others for letting her dogs out. Ullrich went on to allegedly tell officers that she did not realize her dogs were missing until 5:30 p.m. on May 30.
Another witness reportedly told officers that they had informed Ullrich that her dogs were loose on May 29 instead. The witness claimed that Ullrich responded by saying, “Then I just don’t have dogs anymore.”
Court documents indicate that officers believe Ullrich made no attempt to recover the missing dogs, including Enzo, “failing to make provisions for long-term care for the dogs.”
The same witness also told officers that Ullrich’s cat had kittens that died and that she allegedly did nothing to prevent it from happening.
The officers stopped by Ullrich’s residence where authorities observed a kitten that was described as being “lethargic, barely moving, and emaciated,” according to court documents.
Ullrich reportedly told officers that she had acquired the kitten a week before and had not taken it to the vet or made any appointments since she could not afford to take care of the animals, court documents said.
It was at that point that Richmond police arrested Ullrich and brought her to the Wayne County Jail.
Enzo and the kitten were provided immediate medical care and provided food.
“Enzo immediately ate an entire bowl of dry food as soon as it was presented,” said court documents. “The kitten refused a bowl of wet food but immediately drank from a bottle when offered. Within two days, the kitten’s activity had elevated once fed a bottle by hand multiple times a day.”
Ullrich is set to appear in an initial hearing in Wayne Circuit Court on June 7 at 11:30 a.m.
