Through a No Wrong Door grant to address social isolation, Senior Resources has limited availability for animatronic pets (dogs and cats) as an alternative to traditional pet therapy. Joy for All Companion Pets provide benefits such as increased interaction with others, connection to memories of family pets, decreased anxiety and agitation, uplifted mood, and stimulated senses.

Feedback has been very positive and has proven successful in combating social isolation for people living in their own homes and community-based settings. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found that the pets helped decrease stress and anxiety for some patients with dementia.

The new animatronic pets have already made differences in the lives of our participants. Mitsu Engle, pictured above, holds her new companion, Whimpy, who was already responding to his new named before our supports coordinator left her house. Mitsu had already fallen in love with her new companion and sat him in the living room next to her reclining chair. She said that when her husband was living, they used to have a dog name Whimpy and this dog reminds her of him. She said she now has someone to talk to when no one is around. Mitsu’s health has declined and she is no longer able to care for a live pet.

“I wish you could have seen the big smile on her face when I turned him on and how she just laughed like an innocent child,” the supports coordinator said. “The older I get the more I realize it’s the simple things in life that truly matter and to never underestimate the power of showing someone they matter.”