{"id":294182,"date":"2026-06-03T09:35:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T09:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294182\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T09:35:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T09:35:19","slug":"how-robotic-pets-are-providing-companionship-to-these-tampa-bay-seniors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294182\/","title":{"rendered":"How robotic pets are providing companionship to these Tampa Bay seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a recent Tuesday morning at Clear Bay Terrace Apartments in Tampa, a group of seniors huddled together in a small dining area inside the complex\u2019s community center.<\/p>\n

One by one, they\u2019re called up by name to a brightly colored, hexagonal, plastic playpen overflowing with puppies and kittens.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright, Michael Fusco, come get your baby,\u201d Mariah Cruz, the housing community coordinator for the low-income apartment complex, called out. <\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Michael Fusco, a resident of Clear Bay Terrace Apartments in Tampa, adopted “Smoky” at a recent event designed to give seniors a tool for combatting social isolation and loneliness.<\/p>\n

Fusco walked up slowly to Cruz and took a small, yellow dog with the red bandana into his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you! Smoky. I think I\u2019ll call him Smoky,\u201d Fusco said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmoky! Aw,\u201d Cruz gushed.<\/p>\n

Fusco accepted the adoption certificate, then walked over to a photo backdrop to take a picture with his new friend.<\/p>\n

Listen to the Bay Blend version of this story.<\/a><\/p>\n

Smoky is one of dozens of cats and dogs adopted by seniors. But he doesn\u2019t need to be walked, bathed or even fed.<\/p>\n

Smoky is a life-like, robotic \u201ccompanion pet\u201d for seniors from Hasbro\u2019s \u201cJoy For All\u201d division. It\u2019s designed specifically with seniors in mind \u2014 so they move, respond to touch, sound and light. They even make noises. <\/p>\n

But you won’t see them walking around. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn’t want it to be a fall risk, so we didn’t have the [peeing], which I think would have been kind of fun. They\u2019re encouraged, the owners, to not technically put them on the ground, that way we don’t have any of those issues,\u201d said Carey Kleinmetz, a development manager for Volunteers of America Florida<\/a>, a nonprofit that provides services for vulnerable Floridians. <\/p>\n

The nonprofit also manages these apartments.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

“Companion Pets” were created by Hasbro’s “Joy for All” division, which aims to foster “play, joy, and happiness” in the lives of older adults. The cats cost $160, the dogs cost $180, and the birds, called “walker squawkers,” cost $65. Birds were not of this particular adoption. They all come in various colors.<\/p>\n

Why robo-pets?<\/p>\n

More than 20% of Florida\u2019s population is 65 or older, and more than 10% of those seniors are considered low income, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.<\/p>\n

According to the National Poll on Healthy Aging<\/a> conducted in the fall of 2025, 83% of pet owners age 50 and older said their pets give them a sense of purpose, and 71% said their pets help them enjoy life. \u00a0<\/p>\n

But more than a third of individuals polled reported that having a pet strains their budget.<\/p>\n

Some seniors may choose not to have a pet at all, and others may forgo feeding themselves to care for their pet.<\/p>\n

In the early 2000s, Wheels on Wheels volunteers realized that one-in-five seniors they delivered food to were sharing their meals with a pet. In 2007, the organization partnered with PetSmart Charities\u00a0to start delivering pet meals to people, too.<\/p>\n

But veterinary care is expensive, and impossible for many seniors on a fixed income. Some seniors also don\u2019t have the mobility needed to take dogs for walks and scoop litter boxes.<\/p>\n

So when Humana approached Volunteers for America of Florida recently about a grant opportunity to fund robotic pets, they leaped at the opportunity.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A resident at Clear Bay Terrace Apartments in Tampa gets her photo taken with her new kitten. All the new pet parents were given accessories and adoption certificates, and the housing complex is planning social events for them to bring their new babies to.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It\u2019s to] combat isolation for some of our seniors here in the facilities that we have throughout Florida, and the idea of finding ways to kind of get them into community, get them out of their apartments, get them talking was, I mean, a no-brainer in our eyes,\u201d Kleinmetz said.<\/p>\n

She said the furry friends are a sort of \u201cTamagotchi for seniors.\u201d Or even akin to the Furbies fondly remembered by millennials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more that they interact and talk to them, pet them, make noises, move around with them, the more they will come alive, in a sense. So, those that really, really engage with it will really, truly start to see the benefits,\u201d Kleinmetz said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cat is hilarious because it paws, it can roll over on its back. Somebody was brushing it with a with the brush, and you saw it like moving like a real cat does. The dogs barking, roofing, or growling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reactions from seniors<\/p>\n

Fusco stays pretty active at the gym, he said, but he still comes home to an empty apartment. Now, Smoky will be there waiting for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just gonna hang out, watch TV, watch poker, play poker, whatever. Ask for his help once in a while. Should I, should I not make the move? I don’t know if he’s gonna have good hands often in poker,\u201d Fusco said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Dogs were more popular at a recent “Positive Pets” adoption event at Clear Bay Terrace Apartments in Tampa.<\/p>\n

He misses having a real dog, but points out that many apartment complexes don\u2019t allow pets or charge large, nonrefundable pet fees at move-in and monthly pet rent. So even if a senior can afford a pet\u2019s ongoing care, their options are still limited.<\/p>\n

Virginia Hill named her new cat \u201cNell.\u201d As she stroked the white and gray tabby\u2019s soft fur, she started purring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess she’s just the right cat for me. Yes, it’s so funny. She’s adorable. I didn’t think she’d be this. The dogs\u2026\u201d Hill opines as a cat lover, “They just don’t look as cute. Maybe it’s their position. They’re sitting upright. This one is lying as a cat would. I think that’s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Virginia Hill loves her new cat, Nell. Especially her realistic little bean toes and the way she purrs when she is being petted. She misses having a real cat, but says this one mimics some of the best parts of the experience.<\/p>\n

Hill said the residents at Clear Bay Terrace don\u2019t always socialize with one another, and is curious if the robotic pets will change that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a lot of people here, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is friends with everyone,\u201d Hill said, as Nell interrupts with a loud meow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s right. And you meow, too. You agree? See, a cat will always agree, but you do what a cat says. I mean, the cat rules you, you know that,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n

She said she hopes Nell sheds less than the other cats she\u2019s owned.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for these seniors?<\/p>\n

When Mariah Cruz took over as the housing community coordinator for Clear Bay Terrace Apartments, she noticed a distinct lack of community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of separation, a lot of isolation, not just with like our more fragile residents, but just across the board,\u201d Cruz said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no sense of community, so I really came in, and I started things like movie nights, game nights, karaoke nights, just to get us together to create that community, and I still noticed these individuals that just wouldn’t come out of their apartments, didn’t participate in things, didn’t come down, didn’t interact,” Cruz continued. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Some of the residents stayed after the adoption event to chat about their new pets and test their features. The complex’s manager hopes the social interactions continues, and is planning special events to encourage residents to mingle.<\/p>\n

She hopes the robo-pets will change that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole point is to get them acclimated with their pets for a week or so, and then let’s all come together, real pets, robotic pets. Let’s start a community, let’s start talking. Let’s talk about how much we love our animals. So that’s my hope. That’s what I want for them,” she said. <\/p>\n

Volunteers of America will be watching the new pet owners and gathering data on how much it helps their mental health and social isolation. If successful, more robo-pets could be rolled out to seniors in their facilities around the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it should just be like a thing that we offer off the bat,” Cruz said. \u201cEverybody has an emotional support animal, right? Why can’t we offer somebody who doesn’t have the financial means or the physical means the same exact thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

You can read more about these pets \u2014 and perhaps buy your own parents or grandparent one \u2014 on the Joy for All website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Cats weren’t as popular as dogs today, but their new owners loved them, and several residents made jokes about cat people versus dog people stereotypes. Future adoptions could also include electronic birds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a recent Tuesday morning at Clear Bay Terrace Apartments in Tampa, a group of seniors huddled together…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-294182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}