Okay, am I the only one not getting this?

According to an Associated Press Article (by Cheryl Wittenauer) dogs are getting serious competition when it comes to companionship. A study done by the Saint Louis University found that a real therapy dog and a robotic dog were equally effective at relieving loneliness in seniors.

When I was five or so (a long time ago) my parents gifted me with one of those pull along battery operated plush dogs that woofs. They believed that they could silence my repeated pleas for a real dog. Guess what - it didn't work. I knew the difference between alive and man-made toy, and, if I recall correctly, felt sad and insulted.

And it mystifies me that the seniors in that study group did not. Why is it that they "bonded" to a piece of metal, petted and talked to it. Are we really so detached from human and animal connections that we happily substitute with high tech pieces of metal? Maybe yes. I mean people have computer identities, break up with their ex-lovers by texting, and choose TV to social gatherings.

What also saddens me is that researchers would even consider doing such a study. I would feel intellectually and spiritually violated if someone would ask me to make friends with a robot. I mean, these folks in St. Louis are seriously considering to substitute therapy dogs with robots to help old people. How about visiting with them so they won't be so desperately lonely that they talk to a machine.

Oh, and one more thing while I rant. The study's author, a professor and scientist, referred to the robot as a "charismatic". Wonder if he'd have an issue with me anthropomorphizing when it comes to real dogs?

Maybe I am the only one having an issue with that. Maybe, if seniors are helped, anything goes.