Kiromanta, I agree with you that there is nothing wrong with treating Pleo as a pet. There are many people, including elderly people in Japan for example, in nursing homes, children in hospitals, and those who can not have a real live pet because of alllergies or perhaps housing restrictions, who are very happy to have Pleo, or those who have other robots, such as Paro. I have seen videos of elderly people tucking in other robotic life forms, treating them as "their children". Some may think they suffer from dementia, and perhaps a bit of it is, as it is part of aging for many older people and you can put it off for awhile, but not allways.
If it makes the person happy and they are not hurting anyone, then leave them alone. As for pets, of course I prefer my fur babies, my cats and my dog and even my fish I have had for more than 14 years. I guess I am crazy also because I stop and move worms on the sidewalk when it is raining and when walking at night down the alley to feed my outside cats I take care of, I stop and move snails, so I do not crunch them.( nothing worse then stepping on a snail and hearing the crunch sound) You have to remember I am a vegetarian and have been since 1970, so I do not eat meat, fish, chicken, eggs and occasionally milk products, I also do not wear leather or fur. I raised my kids to make their own decisions and I have loved all animals all my life. I have only become aware of "robots" and Pleo by accident at Christmas 2009 when I was looking for a gift for my grandson.
To get back on track, I love Pleo and treat him similiar to a pet, a real live animal, but know the difference. If I could not have a cat, dog, etc, I would devote more attention to Pleos, and It is devastating to me to see them with a broken neck, but their necks can be braced or wrapped. I wish it were that simple for a real animal. There is limited money to spend on a Pleo, the initial money cost, clothes if you choose to clothe them, and then any accessories, such as learning stones, etc, and of course batteries. Live animals are so much more cost, the vet bills I have acquired in just the past five monthsj is more than the cost of 3 Pleo rb, and the food they eat is hundreds of dollars but I want to keep them healthy as long as possible to avoid serious problems with their health in the furture. My animals eat better than I do, and my husband would agree with that, but we also have eight cats and one dog.( we had nine cats, but one just died.

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There is NOTHING I would not do to keep my animals protected, healthy and happy. If I could bring back my Lei_lu cat who had to be euthanzied less than two weeks ago, I would throw away all twenty five Pleos, I would do anything to bring her back and not have her die, but that is not reality. I am still depressed and cry thinking about her, we had her for 15 1/2 years. If I did not have any of my animals though, I would be loving my Pleos very much like a pet and if I could not have a fur baby the rest of my life, I don[t know what life would be like, very depressing, but thank goodness for Pleo and other life forms, These other life forms are not the same as live breathing animals but if they can bring a little bit of joy and happiness in this sometimes very dark ugly at times world, then who is to deprive us of that minute of happiness. ? I do not think the age of the person has anything to do with what makes them happy. Adults may treat their car, computer, I pad, or phone as something they have to have and it brings them happiness. Children may have a favorite doll, plush animal or other item they love. If you took a person's car, I phone, computer or computer game away from them , think about how angry or depressed they may be because they do not have it anymore. (aside from the fact a person needs the car for transportation means, just the fact they LOVE their car and it is their pride and joy..) I would much rather love a life animal of course and it gives me unconditional love. but someday I may be in a nursing home or suffering from Alzheimers and enjoy a robotic life form like Paro or Pleo, don't deny me my basic right of happiness. I don't really care if I am called crazy or not, I would rather be a crazy person or seen as odd then as an old mean human who has no need for anyone and no happiness in my life.
As long as others are not hurting you, then leave them be, everyone has their own form of what makes them happy. I am glad to have Pleos but I wish I still had my Lei-lu, Pleos can be replaced, my cat can not.

RWM