Would you clone your dog?

Edgar and Nina Otto loved their Labrador retriever, Lancelot, so much that they collected his DNA before he died of cancer in 2008. Then they spent 155,000 usd to clone Lancelot with a surrogate Irish Setter and got Lancelot Encore. The latest news is that Lancelot Encore has now sired his own puppies with a purebred Labrador retriever. Eight puppies, to be exact.

Would you clone your dog?

More about the amazing story here:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48323508/n...BRFJKLA5pR

If I had the money, I'd certainly consider cloning a most cherished and beloved dog or cat. I actually did talk about cloning one of my cats that was dying of kidney failure many years ago. Nowadays, money is tighter than it used to be though. Plus there are so many concerns I'd have about cloning, including the health of the cloned animal after having spent all that money! But if money were no object, I might still give it a try.

This might be "old news", but the last time I heard of it was that all cloned animals don't live long because the fact they were cloned from older cells rather than new born cells. I remember that Dolly sheep died of age 6 while this species's natural life span is 11~12 years. I just looked it up, they claimed "Dolly was the only lamb that survived to adulthood from 277 attempts". It was proven the same in many other cloning cases, all cloned animals were dead earlier than they should.

I would also be worried about the fact the cell was collected from a dog died of cancer. Cancer is known for having "family history", it is in the DNA. Some families have more risk of cancer than the other. If you collect the cells from someone who already has cancer, the risk of the cloned copy catching cancer is far greater than just another family member catching cancer in a family with cancer history.

So no, if it is up to me I will not clone any animals until the technology can be matured and proven there is no downside of it.

That is neat, but honestly, I wouldn't pay the money. I do love my dog, but that is a ton of money that I could buy a home with. Also, I don't know if I could handle two of my crazy dogs! hehe. I think it is cool to have a few different personalities of dogs as well. Having one exactly like the last is kind of boring.

While in theory this is a wonderful idea and I would pay any amount of money to not lose my girls (especially my Kotton, Mommy Therapist) I don't think I could do it. There could never be another Kotton, she is one of a kind and as was mentioned Kotton II (hmmm maybe Flannel LOL) would die earlier and then I would have to suffer the lose all over again.

(07-29-2012 09:36 PM)pugskjj Wrote:  While in theory this is a wonderful idea and I would pay any amount of money to not lose my girls (especially my Kotton, Mommy Therapist) I don't think I could do it. There could never be another Kotton, she is one of a kind and as was mentioned Kotton II (hmmm maybe Flannel LOL) would die earlier and then I would have to suffer the lose all over again.

pugskijj made a good point too.

Whatever you clone, it is not the same animal even their DNA is identical. Memory, experience, and everything else made what your old pet who he or she was. had been lost with the death of your previous pet. The new cloned animal retains no memory of the previous pet. It may not even have the same habits and personality. If you love your old pet so much, you might as well just get the same breed of whatever your pet was. There is no point spending so much money to just get another same breed animal who is not your old friend, but that is just my opinion. People can do whatever they want with their own money.

I agree that 155,000 usd is a very big sum of money. Seriously, if I had that amount of loose change to throw around and I wanted to do something in memory of my pet, I would start a home for dogs with cancer or something like that.

Still, it's their money. Compared to the people who spent 300,000 usd for a wedding for their dogs, this may seem to be a more useful alternative. As for the longevity of the cloned animal, I can see the shortcomings, so to say. However, in this case, Lancelet Encore, the cloned dog, had already sired a litter of puppies, in the normal way. So the chances of his puppies living a longer life is improved. That's assuming the cancer doesn't crop up too soon.

I saw that TV segment on this, I forget what show it was from. I don't think I would ever do something like that - it can't be the same dog, just a dog that looks like the original. That's kind of like marrying a twins twin because the first one you married passed away. They're different individuals - not the dog you knew and loved.

I don't think I could ever do it. It would be to weird because the dog wouldn't be the same dog, it would just look the same. It would probably be to hard for me, and I don't think its really the best way to get over the grief of losing a dog. I don't see it as healthy behavior, and I'm not criticizing because if I could I would keep my animals forever but not this way, it'd just be to weird.

I agree that a clone is still not the same dog. How about when we breed our dogs to get a puppy? Is that, in some way, similar to retaining a bit of our beloved dogs after they pass away? I know that this is a ploy often used in movies like Turner and Hooch. In the movie, Hooch was killed but the movie ended showing Hooch's son which was almost like a carbon copy of Hooch.


That's Beasley aka Hooch on the left with a smaller Dogue de Bordeaux which was probably used to potray Hooch's son at the end of the movie.

While this might be answer to some pet owners who miss their beloved pet and if you have the money and this is like having them back to you, I say go for it.

For me though, it just wouldn't be the same. All the scientific theories and research aside, i don't think a love one can be replaced animal or otherwise. Although you can get a new beginning with a clone, they can't take off where the other left off, so to speak. You start over with raising, nurturing and caring for your loved one which defines how they will mature into the pet you love. I love my boys more than words can say, but they are their own personality and I just couldn't or wouldn't replace that.