See Spot Multiply

   By drodriguez  Jul 01, 2008
37

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 suffered international 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 cloning beloved 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?

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sjsmtlaurel by sjsmtlaurel | Mount Laurel, NJ
Sep 10, 2008

I think that there are too many homeless animals in this world for cloning them to be a good idea. The expense of one cloned animal could provide food and shelter for the homeless for a long time and maybe prevent euthanizing so many of them.

sireeshasri by sireeshasri | arizona city, HI
Sep 03, 2008

dump test

marlo-1130 by marlo-1130 | titusville, FL
Aug 21, 2008

I think this is so wrong......stop trying to play God.

bdigit by bdigit | Waverly, IA
Aug 07, 2008

GROSS! I'm definitely against this!

LATeach by LATeach | Wheat Ridge, CO
Aug 03, 2008

I agree, pynoblem. I'm not sure what people are expecting with a clone. I love the surprises, the uniqueness, the unexpected that our pets, our children, and life in general throw at us. Sorry about your Toby.

Cropperhopper by Cropperhopper | SHARON, PA
Aug 03, 2008

I just lost Toby after 21 years. He was our child. A clone would never replace him nor would I want it to. I always adopt my dogs from a particular animal shelter. I know that they do not receive the right care, and I know that I am truly rescuing an animal. This help with the grieving process. I think cloning would take away from the uniqueness of an individual.

bigmouth58 by bigmouth58 | Houston, TX
Aug 02, 2008

I am at a point in my life that NOTHING surprises me anymore. Now mankind thinks it can create life too. We need to stop now before this gets out of hand. Only God creates life and takes it away. If you don't believe me, start reading the most read book in history, The Holy Bible.

LATeach by LATeach | Wheat Ridge, CO
Aug 02, 2008

I find this just kind of silly, as Salemsw says there are many good reasons for research other than this... We have two dogs which we found out (after we had fallen in love with cute puppies) were puppy mill puppies. They have a lot of medical/genetic issues and HAD some behavior issues. They are now the best 3-yr-old dogs EVER! We love them every day for the absolute joy they give us - But clone them - NO CHANCE!!

ChefJess by ChefJess | Toledo, OH
Jul 31, 2008

I don't like this at all. The truth is that even if the dog looks like and has the exact same genes as the dog that died, it does not mean that it has the same temperament or personality. Each dog is different and I don't like the idea of replacing the dog that passed away. I lost my lab mix about 3 1/2 years ago and it was awful, but when I got another dog I did not get another lab mix because I did not want to replace my dog that died. I agree with Salemsw, it just seems like there are all these breakthroughs with cloning, but what about with alzheimers and cancer?

Salemsw by Salemsw | Millbury, MA
Jul 27, 2008

I find this disturbing. Cloning in my book is just not right. If this can be done I think Doctors could find better use of there time like finding the cure of cancer.

jamazoo by jamazoo | covington, GA
Jul 22, 2008

I'm undecided. I agree that theres no shortage of dogs who need to be found a home first but, I thinks its a neat idea if I had or would spend alot of money to have it done. I'm still undecided ***sigh***

MochaBKjoe by MochaBKjoe | Chillicothe, OH
Jul 14, 2008

I think the actual idea is a good one, its a bit like keeping your own dogs "daughter" because you loved the mother. However the moral of it - or lack thereof - is disturbing.

adecker by adecker | strasburg, PA
Jul 14, 2008

This is a bad idea. Cloning animals and people is just not right. There are way too many pets in shelters that need homes. They deserve to be adopted and loved instead of being put to sleep. There is no reason for cloning and quite frankly it is just creepy.

nmustin by nmustin | Liberty, TX
Jul 10, 2008

I am a dog, cat and horse lover,, have 3 dogs, 1 horse and 2 cats myself and have lost a few in my day and I would give anything to have them back but they are like children to me......... you CANT BRING THEM BACK. Enjoy them to the fullest like we do our children a spouse, parent or other. There is a reason for life and death. If we were able to "Clone" our dogs,, I would probably not have my Katy right now, we rescued her from the shelter here and I would not trade her for the world. She is half black mouth curr,, and I have a Bulldog and a Corgi,,,, ALL 3 Different,,, and love them so very much. Just like children,,, many of them need to be adopted to good homes,, same with animals,, cats, dogs,, horses, etc. Lets focus on saving them instead of making more....... they NEED US!!!

mdhill by mdhill | Cleveland, OH
Jul 10, 2008

Just of thought of cloning a pet or any other animal is absolutely deplorable and is an huge NO in my book. I am far from being a religious fanatic. However cloning anything is playing God and therefore is spiritually dangerous. According to universal law, if we as humans continue down this path, and it gets into the hands of a wealthy, greedy, controlling entities (be it a person, group, or country), it can lead to a very serious immoral situation, with serious consequences for us as a whole. We have to draw the line somewhere, and better to draw it now before it becomes a runaway train.