We live in a world of self-driving cars, virtual reality, and even self-tying shoes. But how awesome would it be to bring that one special furry friend back to life?
Alright, maybe not the EXACT same furry friend, but a clone perhaps?
This is exactly what Barbara Streisand did with her Coton De Tulear, Samantha. Before the death of this precious pup in 2017 at the age of 14, Streisand swiped some cells from Samantha’s mouth and stomach to create not one clone, but two (as if one isn’t creepy enough). The two fluffers are named Miss Scarlet and Miss Violet.
Now before you go around swabbing your senior dog’s mouth to make Spot #2, there are some things that should be considered.
It’ll break the bank
It’s not cheap to get a clone of Fido. Unless you’re a rock star with killer vocals, you may be leaving your dreams to clone your dog in the past. It can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 which is what this South Korean lab called Sooam Biotech is charging. They’ve reportedly conducted this experiment 600 times. However, the hefty fee is per attempt and doesn’t guarantee a successful procedure. According to Business Insider, a Japanese man from Tokyo commutes to South Korea every Friday to plan with his furry companion Momotan. Junichi Fukuda is one of the few people who have thrown does that $100,000 and more to clone his pet. He tells Business Insider, “If she were to reject me because she’s not used to seeing me, that would really hurt me. So that’s why I think it’s very important to visit every weekend.”
Photo Credit: Will Wei / Business Insider
It could be dangerous
Sooam Biotech states that their experiment is successful only 1/3 of the time, which means you may be throwing down a lot of money to end up with no new companion (or old?). Real dogs are also used in this process, as they provide eggs to birth these clones. The welfare of these surrogates are on the line as they may be susceptible to miscarriages.
Just because they look alike, doesn’t mean they’ll act the same
The behavior stills remains a toss-up even if the genes are identical. This means instead of having the sweet, face-licking lap dog, you may end up with Cujo. However, according to the pet cloning company My Friend Again, raising your cloned pet in the same environment as the last may help in keeping the personality similar.
Finally, by cloning your pet, another homeless animal loses a chance on a good home. So before you consider bringing Fido back to life, consider adopting a pet from your local animal shelter.
Also, if you have a hangover and love ice cream, be sure to check out this article!
