Uber delivers puppies for charity in 4 Canadian cities

A woman poses with a puppy delivered by Uber, on Thursday, Apr. 30, 2015. (CTV Ottawa)

Canadians in four cities had the chance to order puppies using the ride-sharing app Uber on Thursday.

Uber offered 15 minutes of puppy play in exchange for a $30 donation to the shelter dog charity 3MillionDogs.

The deliveries, which used Uber drivers, were available in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Edmonton.

There were 103,525 requests made for the service in Toronto alone, according to a tweet from Uber Canada.

Photos of the puppy deliveries were shared widely on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.

The service was meant to raise awareness for shelter dogs, but also helped improve the company’s image, according to one social media marketing expert.

Vanessa Bugnolo of Ottawa web design company Atomic Motion said the publicity could help Uber overcome the “resistance” it has faced in Canada.

"It's definitely going to help them,” Bugnolo told CTV Ottawa after she had her turn playing with pooches delivered by Ottawa Dog Rescue. “Everyone loves puppies, right?"

Uber drivers have been fined in Ottawa for breaking taxi bylaws, had vehicles seized in Montreal and faced a large protest from taxi drivers in Edmonton.