Highlights
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A jack of all trades: Brett watkinsBy Erin Schoch
Brett Watkins, 29, is waiting for his shift to start at Salty Dog Saloon. The popular Gainesville, Florida bar is expecting a large crowd for Labor Day weekend. Watkins wears multiple hats at Salty. “I practically live here,” he says as he attends the back door. He is in charge of training security, ordering food and hiring for the kitchen. His official title is Kitchen Manager, bouncer and bar back. On occasion, he’ll even bartend. Before Salty, Watkins worked as a financial advisor. He has been working at the midtown bar for two years and does not plan on leaving anytime soon. “I’ll probably do this until it hurts too much to come in,” Watkins jokes. During the slow parts of his shift, Watkins talks to customers and his coworkers. He often shows them pictures of his two dogs: both rescued pit bulls. He fell in love with the breed after volunteering with Plenty of Pit Bulls, or POPB, a rescue and rehabilitation center. The Gainesville based organization focuses on pit bulls because of the stigma associated with the bread. Since POPB does not have an office, they keep all the dogs in foster homes. Most of the dogs need rehabilitation because they come from bad environments, which can be time consuming. While Watkins has fostered dogs in the past, he explained that he doesn’t have the time at the moment. Since Salty Dog Saloon is near the University of Florida campus, Watkins finds it difficult to attend the events during football season because he’s required to work. Even so, he tries to donate every week to the non-profit. For more information and to get involved with Plenty of Pit Bulls, you can visit their website at or their Facebook page. |