Pit bull fans rally around Philly bar with ‘no Eagles’ policy

Pit bull lovers are rallying around a Philadelphia bar this Sunday, while the Eagles take the field. The owner of Doobie’s has refused to air a single Eagles game since the team signed quarterback Michael Vick, who trained pit bulls for dogfighting on his property in Virginia.

Christine Berk doesn’t own a pit bull and she only recently learned about Pat Brett and her bar.  But after reading the NewsWorks article about the bar’s Eagles ban, Berk started organizing “Pit bulls for Doobies.” She said “it’s basically an event to support the owner Pat Brett because she will not air Eagles games since Michael Vick joined the roster. We decided to invite pit bull rescues to join in so they could educate people about the breed as well as hopefully trying to get a dog adopted for the holidays.”

Berk just moved to Cherry Hill from New York City. She said she wasn’t familiar with the area rescue groups or the bar, but she wanted to get involved. “I just wanted to extend from one person to another, from another animal lover, one animal rescuer, just to say thank you for taking a stand for the dogs and doing what isn’t necessarily popular.”

Doobies’ bar owner Pat Brett said even though Nick Foles is starting as Eagles quarterback these days, her ban will stay in place as long as Michael Vick is on the team’s roster. Vick served time in prison for dogfighting. She said she’s received a lot of positive feedback from people who support her Eagles ban, including outreach from Christine Berk, who organized this weekend’s event. “She said I’m sure it’s hurt your business, I would like to throw a party at Doobies to celebrate your decision and pitbulls in general,” Brett said.

Berk said she hopes the event will help educate people about pit bulls and will bring together those working in the rescue community so they can meet each other and unite around the common goal — not of trashing Vick — but of celebrating Doobies’ owner and the stand she took.