Off The Clock: Rescue Mission

It’s A Grind’s Marty Cox and Louise Montgomery provide a sanctuary for unwanted dogs.

By Maya Norris, Managing Editor -- Chain Leader, 5/1/2007

Marty Cox and Louise Montgomery, founders of 100-unit It’s A Grind, are currently fostering two chihuahuas named Christine and Taters, in addition to taking care of their own dogs, a poodle named Griffin (pictured) and Claire, an English setter. For more information about adopting these dogs, visit the Animal Match Rescue Team’s Web site, www.amrt.net.

Marty Cox and Louise Montgomery share a passion for more than just great coffee. The founders of Long Beach, Calif.-based It’s A Grind Coffee House are dedicated to rescuing dogs and finding them homes. The husband-and-wife team regularly fosters dogs and devotes their time and resources to support animal-rescue charities.

Over the last six years, Cox and Montgomery have fostered about 250 dogs. The couple has always had dogs of their own, but they didn’t start fostering homeless dogs until 2001. That’s when they came across an adoption event sponsored by the Animal Match Rescue Team at a local pet store. After learning more about the pet-overpopulation problem, the couple took home a poodle that day to foster and became involved with the organization.

"They’re sick and they’re frightened. And if you don’t take them home, they’re going back into a crate [or put to sleep]," Montgomery says. "It’s just one of those things you don’t have an option on. If you’ve got a roof over your head, you better share it."

Dog Days

Cox and Montgomery regularly foster one or two small dogs for about two to three weeks at a time. They care for the dogs and sometimes nurse them back to health, in addition to taking care of their own dogs: an English setter named Claire, and Griffin, a poodle they fostered and then adopted in December after they couldn’t find him a home.

Working with the Animal Match Rescue Team, Montgomery is usually successful at finding owners for the foster dogs. She places ads on Web sites and in local magazines and helps coordinate pet-adoption events at pet stores.

Montgomery and her sister, Lynda, even appear on "The Pet Place," a local cable show dedicated to finding homes for animals. During the monthly taping, the sisters bring the dogs that need homes on the show and talk about their specific characteristics such as whether or not they are good with kids.

Montgomery is also involved with Friends of Long Beach Animals, an organization that promotes spaying and neutering and pet education. She helps the group with fund raising and helps coordinate its classroom visits, where someone from the organization teaches kids about how to take care of pets.

Giving Back

While Montgomery spends about 20 to 30 hours a week working with these organizations on her own, Cox gets involved through It’s A Grind. The company lets these groups hold meetings at its offices and provides them with coffee and pastries. It also donates coffee for fund-raising events such as the Friends of Long Beach Animals walk. And all It’s A Grind units are required to have water bowls and dog biscuits on the patio.

Although rescuing dogs is a cause close to their hearts, Montgomery and Cox say that they don’t impose their beliefs on customers. "We’ve always tried to be very careful about not pushing our agendas through the stores," Cox says. "Rather we try to use the stores and our resources to help support these causes outside the store."