There will never be another dog like (YOUR PET’S NAME GOES HERE).
Her appetite for kitchen sponges. His did-you-say-WALK? dance. The precise spot on her belly … right … there … that gets the leg twitching 100 m.p.h. Those busy little snorts he makes when he’s chasing rabbits in his dreams, and the way his eyes fly open from a deep sleep when he hears you thinking about opening the refrigerator.
There are millions of special dogs on the planet — it’s true. But yours is the best. Next to ours.
If you can’t imagine life without Fido, imagine life with Fido 2.0. A South Korean company announced in February that it had taken its first order for a cloned canine: A California woman agreed to pay $150,000 for a replica of her late pit bull, Booger, to be reconstituted from an ear tissue sample. A California company called BioArts International recently announced a string of online auctions for its “Best Friends Again” project. Bidding starts at $100,000, and five lucky winners will turn over a pinch of Rover’s genetic material and get back a brand new Rover, if all goes right. Meet the new dog, same as the old dog. Sort of.
BioArts’ predecessor, Genetic Savings and Clone, made headlines in 2002 when it introduced CC (for Carbon Copy), the world’s first cloned kitten, charmingly photographed peering out of a laboratory beaker. Though genetically identical to her mother/twin, CC grew up to look and act like someone else entirely — exactly what you’d expect from a cat.
This wasn’t exactly a surprise. Because an animal’s markings, shape and personality are determined not just by genetics but by environmental factors and biological variables, Genetic Savings and Clone counseled its customers not to expect an exact copy of the original. We thought that was the whole point, but never mind. After selling a handful of copycats at $32,000 to $50,000, the company shut down its catmaking operation and went to work cloning dogs.
Scientists consider dogs among the most difficult animals to clone, for reasons beyond the grasp of those without advanced biology degrees. The South Korean team that produced Snuppy, the world’s first cloned dog, created 1,095 embryos and implanted them in 123 female dogs over two years to get one puppy, which was delivered by Caesarean section in 2005. We can’t help but shake our heads, knowing the shelters are overflowing with homeless dogs, made the old-fashioned way.
