Fellowship Manor, the skilled nursing section of Fellowship Community, a senior retirement facility in Whitehall Township, was the setting for a unique pet adoption event recently.

Fellowship Manor received a Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors 100th Anniversary Community Charity grant in the amount of $2,500 to provide robotic pet companions to some of its residents, in particular, those suffering dementia.

Residents of Fellowship Manor filled the sitting area to witness the ceremonial handing over of the grant check to Mary Kay McMahon, president and CEO of Fellowship Community, and to claim their new “pets.” A choice was given of a golden retriever puppy or a longhair cat in various colors, both of which were realistically soft and were capable of opening and closing their eyes, vocalizing and even rolling over for belly rubs. At times, there is even a discernible heartbeat – and yes, the cats do purr.

Numerous studies have shown interaction with animals can offer patients a better quality of life by lowering anxiety, depression and loneliness. However, in some situations, the use of real animals is not feasible. Robotic pets can bridge the gap by offering many of the same benefits without some of the drawbacks, such as disease spread in the case of COVID-19 and care issues.

According to Tracy Bozik, Fellowship Community’s development and communications manager, studies aside, you could see the improvement in the residents’ demeanor the moment they received their pets.

“It was noticeable right away, how they started interacting with them,” Bozik said.

Bozik, who wrote the grant for the animals, first learned of them through some residents who had actually purchased them on their own.

“We’ve seen how they’ve helped them, but also the group that developed the robotic pets has been at conferences that some our staff have attended, so we could see them in action,” she said.

As to how they chose which residents received pets, Bozik said they received 20 pets, 10 cats and 10 dogs, so they reached out to the activity staff to find out who they thought might benefit most from them. Then, word got out about the pets and people started asking for them.

“It was a bit of a snowball effect,” she added. “At this point, I’m not sure if there are any left, but certainly if another grant opportunity comes along, we certainly would like to write and get some more or see if we can get some individuals to make a donation to purchase an animal or two for some of our other residents,” Bozik said.

Bozik added she would like to keep track of the effects of the pets on residents, if only from an observational standpoint, and to do some follow-up with Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors who made the donation.

“The activity staff works really closely with the residents and the nursing staff, so I will reach out to them to see if they have any observations of things that might have happened as a result of the pets,” she said.

“The biggest thing would be if the person is becoming more sociable. Are they getting out of their room more to attend events and do things that are life-enriching,” Bozik added.

In a world full of COVID-19 and other concerns, anything that can make our most valued and vulnerable population, our seniors, feel more comfortable, is a most welcomed gift.