All I can say it’s about time this man has been reassigned. Mr. Martrich oversaw six dog wardens including Orlando Aguirre who recently was one of four people who passed Almost Heaven Kennel in August only to be shut down recently due to horrific, deplorable conditions. Martrich had overseen these dog wardens who inspected hundreds of kennels in the Southeast region of PA.
Martrich is now assigned to the Bureau of Weights and Measures in the state Department of Agriculture. Is this the best solution or should he have been fired?
Martrich has been under investigation since a raid on Limestone Kennel in Chester County which led to the removal of 100 sick and injured dogs and showed how poorly run and abused the animals were. I heard he was under investigation for more than that but I don’t feel at liberty to say what that was.
To answer a commenter’s question in a previous entry concerning investigating dog wardens who pass inspections of kennels when it is clear they need to be cited ~ I was asked if I am protecting this dog warden or am I afraid to name the person in question. Well, I will now come forth with that dog warden’s name. It was Martrich, former dog warden at the time. From my own firsthand experience with this man, I can say he passed a known hoarder when it was clear she needed to be cited. Only after a short time after he inspected her kennel and passed her, nine of her dogs had to be removed and some of them subsequently had to be euthanized because of their poor, unhealthy conditions. He allowed the poor conditions to exist and allowed those dogs to suffer.
Suffice it to say, I am very relieved to have Mr. Martrich out of Dog Law- long overdue -as I’m sure other people would tell you as well. Orlando Aguirre,a current dog warden, is the one who said that Martrich told him to take dogs from a shelter and give them to Almost Heaven- a PUPPYMILL. Martrich was known to do that on more than one occasion. Mr. Aguirre had been a animal shelter manager and is a humane officer as was Martrich (humane officer). Aguirre is a court-sworn animal control officer who is here to uphold dog law and protect animals and not subject them to animal cruelty no matter what your supervisor tells you to do. This is why I say an investigation is warranted with dog wardens.
Any court-sworn humane officer/animal control officer who allows animal abuse/cruelty to occur or is willing to cover it up to protect others in the same positions should be fired and prosecuted. They are disgrace to those of us who care about the welfare of animals. For me it is a criminal act for a humane officer to allow animal cruelty to continue and not do anything about it.
I will continue with my experience with Martrich in an upcoming entry.