By Laura Goldman From Care2

As her Alzheimer’s disease progressed, Nancy Stevens was no longer able to care for her beloved Goldendoodle, Golden Bear. She was distraught when the dog had to be taken away from her and re-homed with family friends.

This heartbreaking situation inspired Stevens’ son, Tom, to launch a business calledTombot in 2017 and develop the next best thing to a real dog: a very lifelike robot therapy dog. Named “Jennie,” the battery-operated prototype can bark, wag her tail and respond to touch. If you scratch behind her ears, for example, she’ll wag her tail and lean in for more. Jennie was designed by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, which created the Muppets.

“Virtually all of Tombot’s investors have (or had) loved ones with dementia,” Stevens said in a press release. “Through these interactions, we have come to appreciate that the benefits we are delivering aren’t just for seniors with dementia, but also for those most responsible for their ongoing care and well-being.

Robot therapy dogs like Jennie could also help people with other health issues. “You can just pet her. She’s not active and all over the place,” Autumn Kerr, whose father, Dennis, has Parkinson’s disease, told CBS New York. “Sometimes with pets, they can get a little rambunctious.”

According to Tombot, robot therapy dogs are effective substitutes for live animal companions, because they can provide the same benefits but without the same pitfalls, such as the burden of caring for them and the risk of bites, allergic reactions or infections.

Dr. Maja Mataric, a computer scientist and roboticist at USC, told CBS New York that more and more studies “show that people really thrive and feel better when they have some amount of physical contact in their lives.”

A January 2019 study that examined the effectiveness of pet robots for dementia patients concluded the robots “significantly” improved the patients’ behavioral and psychological symptoms. The researchers said robot dogs could even be suitable as a “nonpharmacological treatment option.”

The Tombot website says that Jennie is the first and only robot “to successfully marry the very best computer and robotics technology with the awe-inspiring artistic creativity that only Jim Henson’s Creature Shop can provide.”

Photo credit: Tombot

Jennie is not the first robot pet designed for dementia patients. Paro, a robot baby harp seal that costs around $6,000, has been available at some nursing homes and other facilities for several years. As I wrote in 2016, Paro had proven to be very effective: 97 percent of dementia patients became more social after cuddling the robot seal and almost 80 percent of the patients became more alert.

Although some have argued that it’s inhumane to replace human interaction with robots, Monica Moreno, senior director of care and support at the Alzheimer’s Association, pointed out to NBC News that robotic therapy pets are meant to be a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, important interactions with loved ones and caregivers. And as the daughter of a mom who suffered from Alzheimer’s, I’m personally all for these robots if they help bring comfort to patients.

Jennie, with a price tag of around $450, is expected to be available in May 2020.

Photo credit: Tombot

For more on this story go to; https://www.care2.com/causes/are-robot-therapy-dogs-as-effective-as-the-real-thing.html