Constable gains new canine partner
By BARRY HALVORSON news@leader-news.com

Understanding the only relationship closer than a boy and his dog is a police officer and his canine partner, the Rotary Clubs of Wharton and El Campo presented Wharton County Deputy Constable Daryl Maretka with a check for $2,500 toward the purchase of a new partner during a joint meeting Wednesday at the Wharton Civic Center.

Maretka lost his previous partner, Foster, when the dog was struck during a routine traffic stop along U.S. 59 just north of FM 961 on July 23 of last year. Prior to Foster's death, the two had been paired up since November 2004.

In accepting the grant money, Maretka described the relationship between a trained law enforcement dog and its handler as being "extremely personal." He added his new partner will help him in his chosen profession.

"I have a huge passion to work narcotics and left a former job to work in law enforcement full time," he said, adding he became a full-time deputy constable Jan. 1.

Maretka already has a new dog selected, a year-old Belgian Malinois named Jodie. Also know as Belgian Shepherd Dogs, the breed is one of those preferred by law enforcement for not only drug sniffing capabilities but also as handler protection animals.

The deputy constable said that second skill is particularly important.

"Some of the criminals and gang members transporting drugs through the area are extremely dangerous. So Jodie will be a great resource to the county and a great partner."

Maretka said the dog arrived in the U.S. just after Christmas and is being trained in Louisiana. He said it has two more weeks of general training. That will be followed by two to three weeks on training as partners before they will be patrol ready.

In making the presentation, Wharton Rotary President Phyllis Sliva said one of the recommendations offered at a recent district assembly meeting was to see what kind of joint projects they could find to serve the community.

The two clubs realized Maretka's situation would be a perfect project and submitted a district simplified grant request. Each of the clubs provided a $250 donation with the grant committee more than matching the local donation with a $2,000 grant.

In accepting the grant, Maretka said it would be combined with donations from the West Wharton County Crime Stoppers, the Wharton Police Department and other private and civic group donations. He said the district attorney's office has agreed to cover food and veterinary expenses.

El Campo Rotary President Gary Raybon said supporting law enforcement is something everyone in the two Rotary clubs can support.

"It is something we can do to give back to the community," he said. "And because it involves drug intervention, it benefits not just our communities, but also the communities in all directions. Anything that stops the transporting of drugs benefits society in general."

Among those attending the meeting was Rotary District President Jeff Tallas.

He said the local request was unique.

"I'd never seen anything like it before and I've been part of the grant committee for the past four years," he said. "But it met our criteria of the Four- Way Test so we approved it. But it was a very unusual request and one we were happy to be able to accommodate."

Serving as the guest speaker for the meeting was Bill Teague, the first CEO of the Blood Center in Houston and now that organization's president and CEO emeritus.

He used a combination of jokes and personal observations to talk about simplifying the Rotary Four-Way Test to make it more user friendly for everyday life. He said it boils down to three concepts - commitment, respect and integrity.

"And the commitment to the constable demonstrates this," he said. "Rotary is about service above self and rotary stepped in this situation and showed all three. For commitment, there is the relationship between him and the dog. For respect, it is shown by the regard for law enforcement. And for integrity, the Rotary did the right thing. So you can see it's not hard and that the little things mean a lot."