Throughout the local animal rights and welfare community, Martin Roy “Marty” Sitnick was known as a tireless and passionate advocate for furry and four-legged creatures. One friend of Sitnick’s even dubbed him “the Betty White of Baltimore.”
An Owings Mills resident, Sitnick died at his home on Thursday, Mar. 16. He was 74.
Born and raised in Baltimore, Sitnick worked in different capacities as an animal behavior counselor and trainer for nearly six decades.
A 1966 Pikesville High School graduate and University of Maryland graduate, he also worked in business and as a travel industry consultant for many years. He sold his discount travel company in 2010 and spent the remainder of his life helping animals and pet adoptees.
“I always loved animals,” Sitnick told The Beacon in March of 2020 in an article about retirees. “My parents always had dogs, and my mother encouraged me to have snakes, hamsters, guinea pigs, lizards. … When I was 7 or 8, I used to walk home from school and I discovered that if I saved some of my lunch, I could get dogs to follow me home. It drove my parents crazy.”
Originally, Sitnick dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. But he told The Beacon he decided against such a career move when a college anatomy instructor offered a live demonstration of a headless chicken running around.
Sitnick wound up graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history and owned several successful businesses.
But he always kept his eye on the field of animal care.
“I spent as much time as I could reading about animal training, studying techniques and different breeds,” he told The Beacon. “I became the kind of person people came to with questions about training their pets.”
After retiring, Sitnick devised a business plan to help and advise animal shelters as well as people who adopt animals. He also volunteered for the Adopt a Homeless Animal Rescue and the Baltimore Humane Society in Reisterstown, becoming a board member and eventually associate executive director of the latter organization.
He also provided animal services at the residences of adoptive families, or over the phone. “I’ve been able to leverage myself to help more people,” Sitnick said. “Sometimes I talk to 10 people in a day from all over the country.”
In a 2020 Jmore article about pet ownership during the pandmic, Sitnick said, “Sometimes we worry about people having big hearts. Taking in an animal is a very serious commitment. Depending on the age of the [adopted] animal, it’s a five or 10- or 15-year commitment. The expenses are significant, and so is the time and energy required. …
“I fear that when some people get back to normal, they’ll realize they don’t have the time they thought they had, and animals may end up being returned. I’d just ask people to think before you adopt,” he said. “We want animals to have homes that are forever homes.”
In a tribute on the website of Sol Levinson & Bros. funeral home, Sitnick’s family wrote, “Marty was a hero to many people and animals. He was an entrepreneur at heart, who built successful businesses across a range of sectors, from retail, to travel, to professional services. Upon his retirement, Marty devoted himself fully to his life-long passion for animals. As a volunteer trainer for rescued dogs and a self-taught expert in animal behaviour, Marty helped save hundreds of lives and supported life-changing relationships between animals and their people.”
Sitnick is survived by his wife of 51 years, Karen Sitnick; his daughter Jessie Sitnick; his son-in-law, Herb Wong; and his grandchildren, Loki and Nate Wong.
Funeral services will be held at at Sol Levinson’s Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Rd. in Pikesville, on Sunday, Mar. 19, at 9:30 a.m. Interment will be private.
Memorial contributions can be sent to Marty’s Fund at the Adopt a Homeless Animal Rescue, P.O. Box 65351, Baltimore, Maryland 21209 or aaha-rescue.org/donate (please specify “Marty’s Fund”).
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