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In an effort to closely follow social distancing rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, one Maryland winery is putting their shop dog to work delivering bottles of wine to customers curbside.
Pandemic related shutdowns have required many business to close their doors to customers, severely impacting sales and forcing business owners to get creative to keep business afloat.
One such business, the Stone House Urban Winery in Hagerstown, Maryland, outfitted their shop dog, Soda with a special backpack that allows him to carry up to 2 bottles of wine and a whole heaping of smiles and kisses to customers at the curb.
“Hi all, Soda here again. So, mom has been filling me in on this Covid-19 virus thing and she says that it is REALLY affecting small businesses like our little winery. Mom says that we all have to pitch in and pull our weight, that includes me as well. So, if you are out shopping and have kids in the car, or just want to keep your distance from other folks, give us a call and place your order, I’ll try to personally deliver your wine in my nifty new wine saddle bag.”
According to the World Health Organization, there is no evidence that dogs can be infected with the novel coronavirus, making Soda the perfect man for the job. In addition to pulling his weight at the winery, the adorable delivery dog is generating sales at the winery during unprecedented shutdowns that will likely cause many small businesses to fail.
Stone House owner Lori Yata told TODAY that Soda loves his new gig as delivery dog, but she does have to make sure there are no critters like squirrels or geese around before letting him out… he is still a dog, after all!
There was a report of a dog in China that although did not have the virus was carrying it in his fur. It was not determined if a person would have been able to become infected but seemed likely while it was active. There was also the question of how long it could live or stay active to be a threat to a person that came in contact with the dog. Definitely not a comforting thought.