I heard some variation of the same line at least half a dozen times at SXSW, the mega tech conference in Austin, Texas, last weekend.
The adorable puppies in question came to SXSW because of a collaboration between $4 and the $4.
In the 18th century, $4 as rescue dogs. Mophie makes cases that "rescue" dying phones by providing an on-the-go charge.
So, the whole schtick was that conference participants with low cell battery could tweet at Mophie to have a dog come deliver a free charger.
Even if your phone was fine on juice, you could visit Mophie's Swiss-lodge-themed station to snuggle the dogs and drink beer. The reps on the street steering people towards the event had the easiest job in the world:
"Free beer!" they shouted from a street corner. "Puppies!"
Unsurprisingly, the area often had a line to get in.
The clever marketing stunt created quite a buzz. I heard more people talking about the stunt than about any single other startup or company (besides maybe $4).
I personally never saw any pups out delivering juice in the wild, but Mophie says that the team sent out over 600 "rescue missions" over the weekend: