Comments on: Robotic mutt warms hearts

By: Lora

Lora — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:15:43 +0000

4 of my dogs are certified therapy dogs. I would take the boys in regularly to the nursing home that was close to my old house and they loved seeing them. It was a therapeutic for the staff as it was the residents and their families.

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By: Lindsay Stordahl

Lindsay Stordahl — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:17:01 +0000

I can’t imagine being a dog lover and living in a nursing home where there are no dogs. I want to volunteer and bring Ace to visit some of these people.

I don’t think the company of a dog can be replaced by a robot, but I think a robot can provide company.

By: K9 Amiga

K9 Amiga — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:49:36 +0000

i think in the short term, it is understandable that both would attract attention and give cheer( a novelty maybe?) , but in the long term i think the company of a dog is incomparable to that of a machine, no matter how well animated

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By: abbey

abbey — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:32:41 +0000

Ive read studys that people in nursing homes most miss the sensation of touch. A dog easily provides that.

I work in a residential unit, and due to the nature of our clients and shift work, it is far easier to have staff bring a dog to work (trained and socialised) then maintaining a dog at the unit, (kinder to the dog too)although one of our other unit has a live in dog….

At work we have animated/automated (not sure which) anyway, fake newborn babies… You know they are fake, but put one in your arms and you start rocking it, watching you support its neck…its amazing how life like they are & how quickly you respond to them as if they were…

So I imagine a robotic dog would be much the same…i would not like to see them replace dogs, i would like to see more dogs trained and volunteers to take dogs into the homes..

By: Tammy

Tammy — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:21:37 +0000

You know, I’ve actually seen one of these robotic dogs in person. There was a presentation at the vet school at CSU when I worked there.

I was amazed at how easy it was to get drawn in by this “machine”. Even in a short presentation, I felt myself getting attached like I would have with a real dog.

I think even interaction with a robot dog is a good thing! They aren’t very cuddly though!

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