Scranton woman charged with animal abuse
Sep. 22—The smell of death greeted Scranton police Tuesday at Stephanie Ruzicka's door.
Inside her apartment, they found two puppies likely starved to death and locked in a cage in a back room, police said. Another was still breathing but confined to a cage half filled with garbage.
By Thursday, the woman responsible for their care was in custody on a felony, authorities said.
Ruzicka, of 316 Taylor Ave., basement apartment, is jailed at the Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $2,500 bail set Thursday night by Magisterial District Judge Paul J. Ware.
She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 2 on counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, cruelty to animals and neglect of animals.
A dog that survived, a female believed to be a mixed breed — possibly a Doberman mix — is settling in at Griffin Pond Animal Shelter in South Abington Twp., said Executive Director Ashley Wolo Ottaviani. The dog is "terrified" and flea-infested but seems otherwise OK, she said.
Other dogs removed from the property shortly before that are also at the animal shelter, she said. They appear emaciated in photos posted on Facebook.
A warning dated Monday from the city's animal control officer was posted to the door of the residence. Police responded to the apartment the next day and forced their way inside, according to a criminal complaint, eventually leading to Ruzicka's arrest.
She told police she had been tasked with caring for puppies and several other dogs on behalf of a friend named "Mike," according to the criminal complaint.
Plastic sheeting covered the apartment's door Friday. A pungent smell still seeped through the cracks and reaches the street.
Unused cleaning supplies sit next to unopened bags of dog food.
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