What do you get if you cross a good bottle of wine, a very cute dog and months of lockdown?
Soda Pup, the 11-year-old brindle boxer dog who’s spent the best part of this year melting hearts as he delivers wine, that’s what!
Yes, a service that sees a dog delivering wine has been launched in the States.
The dog’s owner, Lori Yata, owns the Stone House Urban Winery in Maryland and stumbled upon the idea of a dog delivery service early on during the pandemic.
She said Soda Pup happily filled the wine delivery position when coronavirus stay-at-home measures meant customers could no longer visit the vineyard.
He allows customers to continue purchasing wine while observing social distancing.
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“We hope he got a good tip,” said one Soda Pup fan on a video of the pup on the vineyard’s Instagram account.
“OMG he is absolutely adorable,” said another.
Lockdown left Soda feeling “a little sad”
“After we could no longer have our guests come into the winery in a social setting, I noticed that Soda was looking a little sad,” she told Today.
“You see, every time the door would chime, Soda would jump up to greet whomever was coming in. It was so funny – when a regular guest would come in, their head would swivel over to Soda’s bed and he would be acknowledged before the rest of us,” she said.
Customers call ahead to order their wine and, when they arrive at the car park to pick up, Soda heads out for door-to-door delivery.
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He carries his precious cargo in a horse saddlebag and carefully transports the bottles to customers for treats.
Soda’s door-to-door delivery service
Lori added: “When we get the call, I hold up Soda’s vest and he hurries on over. Not exaggerating, he really hurries over and stands ready.”
She continued: “I put a couple treats in the pack, a bag for the wine, and the two bottles of wine. I then open the door and he marches on up the walk to the curb and parking lot to deliver the wine.”
Speaking to ED!, Lori revealed this week: “We have been very busy due to Soda and his wine delivery.”
She added that they’ve had lots of people visiting the vineyard just to see the new star.
“We’ve had guests bring their kids to get them out of the house and visit Soda,” she said.
We have been very busy due to Soda and his wine delivery.
“An older gentleman who is a retired World War II veteran has had his son drive him over an hour, twice, to visit Soda,” she revealed.
To honour Soda Pup’s services during the pandemic, Lori has come up with a novel way of paying tribute to the pooch.
“We’ve even made a wine with Soda’s picture on it to commemorate his services during the coronavirus,” she revealed.
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