(NBC NEWS) – Jennie has big brown eyes, soft golden fur, and a tail that won’t stop wagging. Scratch behind her floppy ears, and she’ll lean in for more. She even barks on command.

But Jennie’s not a dog. She’s a prototype for Tombot, a puppy-like companion robot being developed by a Santa Clarita, California-based company of the same name as a tool for comforting people with dementia. Tombot is one of a handful of firms working on the next generation of social robots designed with seniors’ needs — and fixed incomes — in mind.

In a recent post by Dr. Michael Hodgkins, AMA’s CMIO, he cited the consumerization of healthcare as one of three digital health trends that are transforming patient care. Earlier this month, Health Affairs analyzed ‘the ups and downs of expecting patients to act as consumers’. Further, the NEJM Catalyst Insights Council revealed that the majority (96 percent) of its members responding to a recent patient engagement survey said the healthcare industry has a lot to learn from consumer-facing industries.

The joy of pets was felt by members of the Linwood Social Adult Day Program on “National Puppy Day” in the form of therapy dogs, Maddy and Sunny, and a number of robotic dogs and cats becoming noted for their own therapeutic benefits.

A company called Tombot thinks it’s come up with a way to improve the quality of life for seniors facing challenges when it comes to being social: a robotic companion dog that behaves and responds like a real pup, but without all the responsibilities of maintaining a living, breathing animal. The company even enlisted the talented folks at the Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to help make the robo-dog look as lifelike as possible. It’s a noble effort, but it also raises lots of questions.