A few dog lovers around the world may be experiencing double the love soon. A biotech company based in Northern California called BioArts International recently announced that it will clone 5 dogs for the 5 highest bidders of their online auctions.
The opening bids will start at $100,000 for the service of having a dog cloned by South Korean scientist, Hwang Woo-suk. As it turns out, Woo-suk is not unfamiliar with the spotlight, as he has sufferedinternational shame after it was revealed that he faked some of his ground breaking human clone research.
The BioArts chief Executive, Lou Hawthorne has some experience working with pet lovers in the past. He used to run a different company that offered the service of cloningbeloved pet cats. The cat cloning company quickly folded, as there was little interest from the public to spend some $50,000 to have their cats cloned.
But it seems dog owners may be a lot more willing than cat owners to seek the services of cloning their pets from BioArts. Hawthorne said in a recent article for MSNBC, “The average dog owner has a different relationship with his dog than the average cat owner. The level of intensity on the dog side just dwarfed what we saw on the cat side.”
Woo-suk’s South Korean team of researchers has cloned Hawthorne’s dog Missy who died in 2002. The team created three clones of Missy and according to Hawthorne the new dogs have the same mischievous streak as his old dog once had.
What do you think of the idea of a service that clones pets?
If the price were right, would this be something you would consider having done?
Nope! I think I will stick with the real McCoy! Too many poor dogs that have no homes in the shelters and the loose ones who starve or get injured/killed with no one to love them.
MyEmptyCanvas::
on Jul 04, 2008
What do you think of the idea of a service that clones pets?
--- I personally do not care for the idea or the service.
If the price were right, would this be something you would consider having done?
--- Whether "right" or wrong price, I still wouldn't do this. You're not getting your actual animal back since it died & is buried somewhere. It's just a clone & may have the same characteristics & all, but it's still not the same animal, per se.
Indigoblue::
on Jul 04, 2008
The scary thing is--when do they start with humans...is is a short jump into that realm, which could have horrible effects we couldn't even imagine. Really against it.
Lusadi::
on Jul 06, 2008
What a waste of time and money.
kmr100::
on Jul 07, 2008
It's too bad the money used for cloning cannot be put to better use in this world. I would think with the economic situation in such a turmoil and people struggling every day with their finances, the money could be put to better use. I love my dog, but there is no shortage of dogs to love if something should happen to mine.
kattails::
on Jul 07, 2008
What a bunch of garbage...next??
Razzie::
on Jul 07, 2008
The concept is interesting. I have loved all of my pets and really wanted them to live forever, but the next one was always just as special, in a different way. I would hate to miss that by having a cloned pet.
Change is hard for people, but we need it to keep growing.
Move on and try something new.
(The ethical issues of cloing are too numerous to begin to discuss, but it if leads to cures for diseases, it's a good thing, over all. As with anything else, the potential for abuse and misuse is great.)
Cubgirl::
on Jul 07, 2008
I have a beautiful little dog. I got him from the ALP because he had been hit and had to have some extensive surgery on his hip. I fell in love with him and adopted him. He is a Tibetan Spaniel. He is rare. I do not believe in cloning of animals. There are to many already that are not being taken of properly.
They are either homeless or not appreciated by most. Even is my little fellow dies, I could not replace him with a clone. It would not be the same. He is one of a kind.
ARod26::
on Jul 07, 2008
Cloning is just wrong. There are already so many dogs in shelters and that are being euthanized daily plus the ones in puppy mills - people are trying to play God here - i am totally against it
