Doggy deliveries help Colombians shop during pandemic

[Judi Lynn]

Luis Benavides and Manuel Rueda, Associated Press
Updated 7:35 am CDT, Thursday, July 9, 2020



Photo: Luis Benevides, AP
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Eros carries a basket of bread from the El Porvenir mini-market as he makes a delivery on his own in Medellin, Colombia, Tuesday, July 7, 2020. The eight-year-old chocolate Labrador remembers the names of customers who have previously rewarded him with treats, and with some practice, he has learned to go to their houses on his own. “He helps us to maintain social distancing,” said Eros’ owner Maria Natividad Botero, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.


MEDELLIN, Colombia (AP) — Eight-year-old Eros trots through the streets of this hilly city several times a day with a straw basket in his jaws, taking vegetables, fruit and packaged foods to customers of the El Porvenir mini-market. The chocolate Labrador retriever is paid with treats and massages of his furry head.

“He helps us to maintain social distancing” says Eros’ owner Maria Natividad Botero. “And people love it when we send the dog.”

Eros wasn'tt always a star. He was accepted into the family begrudgingly by Botero after repeated requests by her son to adopt a dog.

But Botero and the rest of the family quickly fell in love with the pup. And when they opened a mini market four years ago in the hilltop neighborhood of Tulipanes, he started to accompany Botero and her kids to make deliveries.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/article/Labrador-helps-Colombian-store-to-keep-distancing-15393788.php