The power of cute: Jennie the robo-pup enthralls Gig Harbor seniors

Jennie, a yellow Labrador retriever pup, was an instant hit when she visited a Gig Harbor Alzheimer’s home last week.

“I’m telling you right now, I think you’re cute!” exclaimed one gray-haired man. “Yessiree, you’re about as cute as you can be!”

Jennie responded with a wag of her tail, a lift of her floppy ears and a big-toothed grin. And as she was passed from person to person, there was no risk she would bite, or fuss, or even get tired — as long as her batteries lasted.

Jennie is a robo-pup. The creation of a Santa Clarita, Calif.-based company called Tombot, she’s been designed as a hyper-realistic robotic support dog, built for seniors suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s. Jennie is a prototype, created to interact as a lap dog for those who may not be able to take care of an actual animal.

She and her handler, Tombot’s CEO Tom Stevens, visited the Olympic Alzheimer’s Residence in Gig Harbor last Thursday, Jan. 16. Elderly residents smiled from ear to ear as they took turns petting the playful yet gentle puppy.

“She has the best smile,” said one resident.

“Jeanie is beautiful.” added another happily. “She seems to like everyone.”

Jennie has motion sensors all over her body, giving her the ability to recognize not only where she is being touched, but how firm the touch is. She has all authentic sounds of a real Labrador puppy, including a yip, howl, bark, snore, sniff and yawn. She orientates toward sound and can detect when she is being moved.

Gathered in the TV room, Olympic residents were fully engaged with the robot; some gently petted Jennie, while others pressed their foreheads up against her soft fur.

When petted, Jennie’s playful tail wagged, her ears perked up and she leaned into the petter’s hand. She occasionally barked in delight when the someone hit the right spot, often under her chin or lower back.

Angie Frantz, executive director of Olympic Altzheimer’s Residence, said a pet in a memory-care facility can sometimes be difficult to handle. She said they can be a trip hazard, and the staff sometimes doesn’t have the time to care for them.

By contrast, Jennie never needs to be walked, never bites, never needs to visit a fire hydrant, and loves each lap just as much as the next. After Jeanie’s long day of meeting the Olympic residents she was brought home, placed next to her owner’s bed and was plugged into an outlet to charge her batteries.

“This robotic dog is a way for residents to feel that peace and comfort of having a pet, without all those other areas,” Frantz said.

Stevens said his quest for a comfort robot began when his own mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011.

“Through the many bad days we had, by far the worst was when I had to take away my mother’s dog,” Stevens said.

After embarking on a multi-year education and research effort, Stevens learned that his mother’s story was not unusual, and there were millions of people who could not care for live animals.

Stevens, along with his co-founders, worked together to design Jennie. Their research was funded by a Kickstarter campaign that raised $60,000 in a few months. For Jennie’s realistic-but-supercute looks, Stevens turned to the animatronics experts at Creature Shop, founded by muppeteer Jim Henson of Sesame Street fame.

Jennie is a prototype, constantly connected by an umbilical to its doggy bed, where much of the critical electronics reside. The final product will be 18 inches long from head to tail, with all the electronics and hardware comfortably stuffed inside the animal.

Stevens expects customer shipments to begin next year, with a waiting list already forming.

The robo-pups will cost about $449, he said, well below others coming into the market. Sony ‘s Aibo is more sophisticated — it can walk — but its plastic body is less cute, and it costs nearly $3,000.

Stevens said Jennie’s charging capability is similar to a smart phone, needing to be plugged in at night in order to operate the next day. Stevens Tombot is working on a charging doggy bed, so owners can place their robotic puppy on a bed which will automatically charge the animal.

The final product will be light, weighing only five pounds. They do not walk around, and are only meant to be lap dogs.

Stevens said creating an authentic emotional attachment to an object has been proven to help those who are battling anxiety or depression. Peer-reviewed studies show that when a person with dementia can successfully attach to an object — traditionally human baby dolls or teddy bears — they will see a significant reduction in their behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and a corresponding reduction in their need for psychotropic medications, according to Tombot.

Frantz said Prestige Care hopes to partner with Tombot in order to bring these robotic animals to the residents. With three “neighborhoods” in the building, consisting of 20 residents per neighborhood, Frantz said she wants to initially have one robotic puppy per section.

“We are always looking for new ways to engage with our residents, bring them joy, bring them peace, and animals are certainly a part of that,” Frantz said.

Frantz said engaging residents with things like electronic support animals can bring back old memories engraved in their brain.

“Some of the residents have stuffed animals or baby dolls that they connect with,” Frantz said. “Our excitement with Tombot is it can seem like a real pet with the interaction it provides, but also it is only a lap pet, so it is not something they need to chase after.”

For more information on Tombot visit https://tombot.com.

This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 12:00 AM.