A little Irish cheer on this St. Patrick’s Day thanks to some rescue pups and a coffee shop. Enjoy!
This Coffee Company Helps Save Rescue Pups — And They Have St. Patrick’s Day Goodies, Too
By Morgan Smith
March 16, 2020
People
When’s the last time you skipped the long line at a coffee shop and brewed your own cup of joe at home? Or hit snooze to sneak in a few extra minutes of cuddling with your pet before work?
Grounds & Hounds, a California-based coffee company, is encouraging people to do just that.
Jordan Karcher, 32, founded the company in 2014 after adopting his “sidekick” Molly, a sweet 9-year-old dalmatian. The company donates 20 percent of all its profits to help fund rescue programs in animal shelters across the United States.
Their Rescue Roast donates 100 percent of its profits to a new rescue organization each month. Through April 15th, that’s Pandas Paws Rescue, an organization that rescues and rehabilitates animals with serious medical issues and/or special needs.
I got to sample the Rescue Roast, and it was fantastic. The medium roast has a nutty, bitter flavor with subtle sweet notes of caramel and dark chocolate. A 12 oz bag of whole beans or grounds costs $14.99.
Since Grounds & Hounds introduced the product on their website in 2018, they’ve raised more than $45,000 to help support rescue organizations throughout the country, according to Karcher. Those organizations include the Marley’s Mutts Pawsitive Change Prison Program, which pairs incarcerated men with shelter dogs for rehabilitation, and the Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team, which helps transport animals at risk of being euthanized to open shelters.
You don’t have to be a coffeehead to support these causes either. Grounds & Hounds also sells t-shirts, pet accessories, and stickers, too. For St. Patrick’s Day, they recently unveiled their “Rub Bellies For Good Luck” line, which shows a Dalmatian holding a four-leaf clover in its mouth. My favorite is their new Affogato candle ($32.99), which fills the room with a dreamy vanilla scent.
Next, Karcher tells PEOPLE the company is looking to help people entering retirement homes and survivors of domestic violence in shelters who may not be able to bring pets with them to their new residences.
“What we’re thinking about is, ‘How do you really improve that experience of a pet owner?'” he says. “And more importantly, ‘How do you ensure that people who love their pets have every opportunity to provide a full life for them, without putting themselves in a position where they’re deciding who gets to eat?'”
