I was watching the news out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when a 9-month old Miniature Poodle caught my eye. This cute little guy’s name is Baxter and he is cloned.
A Brief History of Cloning
About 20 years ago, the news was all about Dolly, the first cloned sheep. She was born in Scotland and died there at the age of 6 after having 6 lambs herself. At that time, there was a lot of discussion about the life expectancy of a cloned animal. Since then the process of cloning has been improved by cloning more livestock.
Do You Want to Extend the Special Bond You Share With Your Pets?
According to ViaGen Pets, pet parents are looking for a way to keep that pet that has something special about them.
I perused the client stories to see if there was a common theme. There is a mixture of dogs and cats. This is what I discovered…
Pros of Cloning Your Pet
- I learned that you can have more than one clone of the same dog.
- Clients are looking to have a puppy twin of mixed-breed dogs that they would not be able to duplicate in any other way.
- Clients want to have the presence of the same pet that got them through rough times.
- Clients are looking for an animal with the same spirit and bad habits as the one they have.
- A cloned pet shares the same identical genes, just like natural identical twins do.
Cons of Cloning Your Pet
- The puppies will be the same sex as the donor but may have different markings due to epigenetic factors and
- The puppies will have different personalities and behavior due to environmental factors.
- Cloning is a 3-step process starting with tissue banking then genetic preservation.
- Cost to clone a dog is $50,000, paid in two equal installments.
- Cost to clone a cat is $25,000, paid in two equal installments.
How Long Can You Wait Before Cloning Your Pet?
The client stories reveal that Bosworth’s genes have been banked with ViaGen Pets since 2004. Heath, the Agility champion Border Collie, is still alive. His DNA has been stored with ViaGen for almost 6 years.
What To Expect From Cloning Until Birth
Births follow the usual gestation period of the pet. The veterinary staff does everything possible to deliver a healthy pet but as with any other breeding, there is no guarantee that the pet will be born healthy or without deformities.
You can learn more by watching the broadcast from Pittsburgh here:
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017/11/13/texas-company-cloning-pets/
What are your thoughts on cloning your pet? Would you do it? Why? Why not?
With love, compassion and empowerment,
Amelia
I am on the Just No bench with this one. Not only does the idea of cloning anything scare the daylights out of me but it would not be the same pet. Personality is EVERYTHING when it comes to any life form. I just could not do it.
Personally, I wouldn’t want a clone of a pet. I’d much rather adopt another animal and develop a new relationship instead of trying to replicate one. Plus, think of all the homeless pets you could help with that kind of money!
I totally agree with you Beth! Each pet is special in their own way and I believe that “special” pet teaches us how to love and appreciate the uniqueness in every pet that comes our way.
I believe this is totally unethical, with so many dogs abandoned and killed in shelters. We have enough trouble with puppy mills. I have a neighbor that had 2 old Golden Retrievers they were so sweet, but eventually they passed. But she had sperm saved from the one dog, and bred to have a puppy of his. I was shocked and horrified over this that you have to have a dog like you just had. As special as Dolly is I would never want to have her again. Dolly and Sandra
We are all created to be unique and no man can outdo our Creator. Dolly is blessed to be cherished by you.
I find it amusing that I read your post this week. After sweeping up on Tuesday, my girl Nala was looking in distress at the pile of fur (probably because she knows it means the evil vacuum is about to come out) and I said “you better be scared, I’m storing the hair of you and your three siblings so we can clone you into one dog. We’ll choose the best features of each of you and then only have one dogs worth of hair to deal with.” Naturally, since she is a dog that only understands parts of the gibberish that comes out of my mouth, her anxious stare remained set on the fur pile. I turned to my boyfriend and continued, “except science is all about could and not should. We’d end up with a dog with no teeth, ear problems, bad knees that also chased shadows” (listing off the least favorable aspect of each dog in our pack)
I don’t even think I could adopt a dog that resembled a previous one because I wouldn’t want to expect them to be anything but themselves. Each dog has such a unique personality that I can’t imagine being satisfied with a clone. And it breaks my heart that people are paying $25-$50k when there are dogs and cats sitting in shelters waiting for a home.