You read stories about how robots will save Japan’s aging population, tucking them into bed and doing their dishes. And then you see what those robots actually look like–the equivalent of sticking a mannequin on a remote-controlled car.

Now, Boston Dynamics–the company made famous by building the 240-pound quadruped robot BigDog for DARPA and then kicking the crap out of a smaller version called Spot–has developed an even smaller, more family-friendly version of its ultra-agile robot. They call it the SpotMini. Standing at thigh height and just 65 pounds fully loaded, it’s about the size and weight of a golden retriever.

Like America’s favorite dog, it can sneak under the art deco dressing table, or jog up the stairs. SpotMini will even reach onto your kitchen counter to take things. In this regard, SpotMini may be a lot more useful than your average domestic robot. He has a remarkably nimble clamp arm for a head that’s capable of loading glasswear into a dishwasher (though, I’ll admit, he could be a bit more gentle with the Riedel). SpotMini navigates through your home with “a variety of sensors” including 3-D depth cameras. And he runs a remarkable 90 minutes on a charge, which is better than most Roombas.

It’s enough to make you wonder if the domestic robot industry has been tackling the wrong problem. Rather than developing friendly humanoid assistants, it makes more sense to model a household robot after man’s best friend.