Wine Delivery Dog, Adorable Genius, Nails Curbside Drop-Off

Shops all over the world are concurrently grappling with the same question: How does one stay in business while staying away from other humans? Contactless delivery is a trickier beast than one might imagine. Stone House Urban Winery in Hagerstown, Maryland has found an adorable solution to the topical problem: an 11-year-old brindle boxer named Soda Pup. (I repeat: a dog named Soda Pup.) He goes by Soda and is a genius. Please watch Soda as he gently and calmly delivers two bottles of wine to some ladies in the parking lot.

Soda Pup has a saddlebag fastened to his middle that can hold two bottles of wine. (Cases are delivered by humans.) He's like the best kind of pack mule: small, very serious, and only carrying wine. According to the shop's Facebook page, Soda's delivery skills are on point, "as long as there are no bunnies or geese, or other critters to distract him." I'd say the same about myself, frankly. Soda has also taken up the necessary precautions of an essential worker mid-pandemic, including wearing a mask and gloves far too large for his perfect, dainty paws.

The 75-pound boxer is far from the only delivery dog working through the pandemic. The Washington Post reported on a chipper golden retriever in Colorado named Sunny who brings groceries to his elderly neighbors, and a fleet of sled dogs in northern Maine doing drop-offs, too. The CDC has said dogs are at a very low risk of spreading the virus: only one human-dog transfer, in Hong Kong, has been documented. Soda Pup accepts tips in the form of pats and recommends a thorough hand washing afterwards.