- Hello, and welcome to Living in the Lehigh Valley, where our focus is your health and wellness.

I'm your host, Brittany Sweeney.

Studies have shown that animal therapy is beneficial for seniors, especially those with dementia.

However, in most care settings, it's not feasible or safe to introduce real animals.

That's why one senior living community here in the Lehigh Valley is giving robotic companion pets a try.

Megan Frank joins us now with more on these furry friends.

Meg, it's great to see you.

- You, too.

Hi, Britt.

- Hi!

So tell us about these little guys.

- So they kind of look like a real cat or dog.

They're kind of small in miniature, and then they have these smart sensors all over them, so they can actually sense when you're near them and they will react, maybe a meow or a bark, or even like moving their head.

- So it's similar to having a real pet without kind of the responsibility of cleaning it up and taking it out.

- Yeah, exactly.

There's pretty much no work involved, and you just get to have fun with it.

And the seniors I talked to said that's the beauty of it, because they really can't take care of a pet at this point in their life.

- Sure, it's the best of both worlds.

- Exactly.

So I met up with about 20 seniors who were the first to receive one of these robotic pets, and this is that fellowship community in Whitehall, Lehigh County.

Organizers say while these pets are, of course, cool gadgets, they're also a emotional support tool for the residents.

- Scientific, you know, inventions are...

There's no end to them.

- Meow!

- Oh, look!

Cute little character.

When people get close to these robotic pets, sensors detect and respond to touch and motion, sometimes the reaction is a simulated sound, blinking eyes or a head turn.

- You understand what they're saying.

- 88-year-old Dolores O'Donnell says she owned a dog for most of her life until her health took a turn, and it became too much for her to keep up with.

She says she's open to the idea of having a robotic dog.

- She said, "Do you want to come down and get a dog?"

I said, "Yeah, sure."

- She named it Mia.

- She's a wonderful thing.

There was nothing like it.

- 80-year-old resident Martha Erney named her robotic cat Spirit.

- They gave us the time to be ready, and they wheeled me down, and here we are.

And I could pick what I wanted.

And I picked this one because this one reminds me of one of my feral cats.

It was a tuxedo cat, like this one.

The other one was all white with a black tail.

Very unusual.

- There's about 500 residents living at Fellowship Community in Whitehall, but only 20 had the chance to adopt a robotic pet.

Fellowship Community President and CEO, Mary Kay McMahon, says the animals move and vibrate, and encourage engagement.

- The minute you hand one of these animals to a resident, they are 100% engaged with that animal.

They talk to it, they immediately want to name it.

And, you know, they start petting it and stroking it, and it's as though they've had it their whole lives.

- McMahon says the lifelike companions reminds some residents of the pets they've owned over their lifetimes.

And for residents in memory care, she says the pets have a calming effect.

- A few years ago, we purchased like 2-3 of them, just to see if the residents would respond to them.

So, and the 2-3 residents that we gave them to who were dementia residents just unbelievably responded so positively to them that we really knew that we had something.

- But these pets are not just for people with memory loss.

- Oh, nice kitty.

- McMahon says they're for any resident at Fellowship Community, and says the benefit is companionship.

- Fellowship Community is a continuing care retirement community, so we offer housing for seniors and independent living, personal care services, and skilled nursing services on our campus.

- Just for a companionship.

I'm a rather new patron here.

I haven't been at my home since December 19th.

I've been in hospitals and rehab, and here.

And this will be my home.

And I'm sure it'll be a conversation piece when I get back to the villa, because I'm sure a lot of the people there have never seen anything like this.

And it purrs, you can feel the body movement when it purrs.

It's phenomenal.

- McMahon says real pets reduce social isolation, and these mechanical aids aim to have a similar impact.

She believes the social robots would have been a great aid during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns.

- If we had all of these robotic animals during the pandemic, I think it would have really gone a long way to prevent some of the loneliness that that we had here.

- Resident Jacqui MacDougall says she likes the four-legged machines.

The 80-year-old says she's become more tech savvy over the years.

- I use a computer and laptop, and a... Crazy telephone.

- She's referring to a smartphone.

- Different than what we had when we were kids.

I love seeing my family and stuff on the computer.

- She named her robotic dog Goldie.

- When I talking, he turns his head and looks to me.

Because he's so yellow-like.

- The battery-powered pets were purchased through a grant from the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors Association.

The group's CEO, Justin Porembo, says he's happy to see the funds go to area seniors.

- We know that nonprofits were hit very hard fundraising-wise through the COVID pandemic, and what a time to definitely infuse that money in for a lot of fundraising efforts and situations, just like the one today where we were able to help secure some further mechanical pets for our seniors here at the Fellowship Community.

- Porembo's group gave out more than $50,000 to 20 local groups like Community Fellowship.

And these mechanical animals don't come cheap.

- The average cost is around $120-150.

That's considerably better than what it used to be in the past.

They were very cost-prohibitive when the technology first came out, but it's definitely getting more affordable now.

- But McMahon says she wouldn't put a price on seeing residents smile.

- They're an extremely positive influence for the residents.

It gives them great peace, a sense of peace, a joy, definitely joy.

And the benefits, that uplift that they get in their mood, is priceless, really.

And even though they're electronic, residents say the furry robots still deliver what real pets give to people - joy.

- I think everybody should have one.

Everyone that can't have one inside.

It's a nice toy to play with.

- Just companionship.

Closeness.

- Now, you don't have to be a tech savvy senior in order to enjoy one of these pets - they're really for people of all ages, and Brittany, that includes you.

And so that's why I brought you one.

- I love it, it's so cute!

- Yeah, so let's see if you can make him bark.

OK, he's already reacting, I feel, like to the sound of our voice.

But let's kind of... should I give him a pet?

- There you go.

- There we go, I love this!

- So remember, there's all those smart sensors all throughout him, and that's why he's able to recognize there.

- Oh my gosh, he's really soft, too.

- Yeah.

And the people at Fellowship Community told me that you may name this dog.

- Oh, my goodness!

OK, so I've been thinking about this.

Because he's a robotic dog, I feel like he should be named after the Jetsons' dog, Astro.

- I love it!

- What do you think?

Do we like it for him?

- Hi, Astro.

- He's from the future.

He's a robotic dog at this point.

- Really cool.

- He's a cutie.

- Oh my gosh, this is so neat.

How have the residents been responding to it so far?

- They really like it.

They got a kick out of it.

Some of them said, "I honestly just got one to show my grandkids."

So they're just kind of these hip group of seniors that are embracing technology.

Yeah, I feel like the older folks and the younger folks can bond over it.

You know, like you said, the kids and the grandkids would love that.

It's just fun to play with, to see how you can get a reaction out of it.

- Hey, buddy, hi, Astro.

- Well, thank you so much for bringing him today.

- Astro, I love it!

- Yes!

- All right.

Megan, as always, thank you so much for joining us.

- Thanks for having me.

- And this will do it for this edition of Living in the Lehigh Valley.

I'm Brittany Sweeney, hoping you stay happy and healthy.