On a recent Tuesday morning at Clear Bay Terrace Apartments in Clearwater, a group of seniors huddled together in a small dining area inside the complex’s community center.
One by one, they’re called up by name to a brightly colored, hexagonal, plastic playpen overflowing with puppies and kittens.
“Alright, Michael Fusco, come get your baby,” Mariah Cruz, the housing community coordinator for the low-income apartment complex, called out.
Fusco walked up slowly to Cruz and took a small, yellow dog with the red bandana into his arms.
“Thank you! Smoky. I think I’ll call him Smoky,” Fusco said.
“Smoky! Aw,” Cruz gushed.
Fusco accepted the adoption certificate, then walked over to a photo backdrop to take a picture with his new friend.
Listen to the Bay Blend version of this story.
Smoky is one of dozens of cats and dogs adopted by seniors. But he doesn’t need to be walked, bathed or even fed.
Smoky is a life-like, robotic “companion pet” for seniors from Hasbro’s “Joy For All” division. It’s designed specifically with seniors in mind — so they move, respond to touch, sound and light. They even make noises.
But you won't see them walking around.
“They 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’re encouraged, the owners, to not technically put them on the ground, that way we don't have any of those issues,” said Carey Kleinmetz, a development manager for Volunteers of America Florida, a nonprofit that provides services for vulnerable Floridians.
The nonprofit also manages these apartments.
Why robo-pets?
More than 20% of Florida’s 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.
According to the National Poll on Healthy Aging 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.
But more than a third of individuals polled reported that having a pet strains their budget.
Some seniors may choose not to have a pet at all, and others may forgo feeding themselves to care for their pet.
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 to start delivering pet meals to people, too.
But veterinary care is expensive, and impossible for many seniors on a fixed income. Some seniors also don’t have the mobility needed to take dogs for walks and scoop litter boxes.
So when Humana approached Volunteers for America of Florida recently about a grant opportunity to fund robotic pets, they leaped at the opportunity.
“[It’s 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,” Kleinmetz said.
She said the furry friends are a sort of “Tamagotchi for seniors.” Or even akin to the Furbies fondly remembered by millennials.
“The 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,” Kleinmetz said.
“The 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.”
Reactions from seniors
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.
“We’re 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,” Fusco said with a laugh.
He misses having a real dog, but points out that many apartment complexes don’t allow pets or charge large, nonrefundable pet fees at move-in and monthly pet rent. So even if a senior can afford a pet’s ongoing care, their options are still limited.
Virginia Hill named her new cat “Nell.” As she stroked the white and gray tabby’s soft fur, she started purring.
“I 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…” 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.”
Hill said the residents at Clear Bay Terrace don’t always socialize with one another, and is curious if the robotic pets will change that.
“There's a lot of people here, but that doesn't mean that everyone is friends with everyone,” Hill said, as Nell interrupts with a loud meow.
“That'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,” Hill said.
She said she hopes Nell sheds less than the other cats she’s owned.
What’s next for these seniors?
When Mariah Cruz took over as the housing community coordinator for Clear Bay Terrace Apartments, she noticed a distinct lack of community.
“There was a lot of separation, a lot of isolation, not just with like our more fragile residents, but just across the board,” Cruz said.
“There 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.
She hopes the robo-pets will change that.
“The 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.
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.
“I think it should just be like a thing that we offer off the bat," Cruz said. “Everybody 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?”
You can read more about these pets — and perhaps buy your own parents or grandparent one — on the Joy for All website.
