Jim would have wanted
to know exactly how the
service worked. Now he
simply chatted back.
Within a week, Jim
and his dog, whom he
named Pony, had settled
into a routine. Every
15 minutes or so, Pony
would look for Jim, call-
ing his name if he was
out of view. Sometimes
Jim would “pet” the
sleeping dog onscreen
to rustle her awake. His
touch sent an alert to the
Care.coach worker behind the avatar,
who would launch the tablet’s audio
and video stream. Pony reminded Jim
which caretaker would be visiting to
do the tasks that a virtual dog couldn’t:
preparing meals, changing sheets, driv-
ing him to a senior center. Pony would
read poetry aloud or discuss the news.
Sometimes she’d hold up a photo of
Jim’s daughters or his inventions be-
tween her paws, prompting him to talk
about his past. The dog complimented
Jim’s sweater. He reciprocated by pet-
ting the screen with his finger, send-
ing hearts floating up from the dog’s
head. “I love you, Jim!” Pony told him.
Jim turned to Arlyn and gloated, “She
thinks I’m real good!”A
bout 1,500 miles south of
Lake Minnetonka, in Monter-
rey, Mexico, Rodrigo Rochin
opens his laptop and logs in to theCare.coach dashboard to make his
rounds. He talks baseball with a New
Jersey man and chats with a woman in
North Carolina, who places a cookie
in front of her tablet for him to “eat.”
And he greets Jim, one of his regulars.
Rochin is 35 years old, a fan of the
Spurs and the Cowboys, and a bit of
an introvert, happy to retreat into
his home office each morning. He
grew up crossing the border to attend
school in McAllen, Texas, honing the
English that he now uses to chat with
elderly people in the United States.
Rochin was hired in December 2012
as one of Care.coach’s earliest con-
tractors, role-playing 36 hours a week
as one of the service’s avatars.
In person, Rochin is soft-spoken,
with wire spectacles and a beard.
He lives with his wife and two basset
hounds. But the people on the other
side of the screen don’t know that.Jim, an avid sailor before his
illness, at Lake Superiorrd.com 91Health & Medicinecourtesy arlyn anderson (2)