Match made at work

THEY ARE:

Keeping work in the family.

THE GLUE THAT KEEPS STICKING

Work and golf brought Kathleen Kane and Phil Martinez together.

But love and four pugs made up the glue that has kept them side by

side for nearly a decade.

Kane and Martinez work at the South Coast Water District.

She made her way up to human resources manager in her 13-year

career. He started as a maintenance worker 24 years ago and is now a

project manager. But it took a few years for them to cross paths.

“I went upstairs and I noticed she had a suntan,” Martinez

recalled in their cozy living room looking up at the hills above Park

Avenue. “She told me she played golf and I asked if she wanted to

play and then we started dating.”

The year of their meeting is unclear. After a brief discussion,

Kane and Martinez settled on 1991.

But what really mattered was that in 1995, they exchanged vows at

Crescent Bay with family, friends and, most notably, the pugs --

Wally, Greta, Sophie and Betty -- in attendance.

MR. AND MRS. PUG

Now, if you’ve ever happened upon Kane and Martinez in town, you

might know them as Mr. and Mrs. Pug.

“A lot of people know us by the dogs,” Martinez said.

When they walk from their cottage to Downtown, the curly-tailed,

jaunty little herd attracts enough cameras that would inspire envy in

a Hollywood starlet. Their shoes and the pugs can probably be seen in

travel slideshows all over the world, Kane said.

But seriously, the pugs are more than pets to this couple. They’re

part of the family.

Betty is the mother figure, Greta is in charge, Wally is the lone

guy, and Sophie only has eyes for her “dad.”

“The pugs act like little people,” Martinez said.

PART OF A LARGER FAMILY

Despite their celebrity, Kane and Martinez go to work just like

everyone else. Their long careers at the water district have brought

many friends into their lives and have allowed them to get paid for

what they do best.

An avowed outdoorsman, Martinez is out and about in the field

managing construction projects. Kane, who loves working with people,

works at headquarters.

The downside is that work dominates their conversations at the

dinner table.

But their jobs allow them to do what they enjoy and they

understand when either of them has to work overtime or is paged to a

site.

Also, as much as they enjoy each other’s company, they take

opposite days off.

“You do need some time apart,” Kane said.

* MARY A. CASTILLO covers education, public safety and City Hall.

She can be reached at [email protected].