Jan 29, 2009 06:52 AM
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I understand people really close to dogs. I am. I love Jones like if he was my own son. Seriously. But paying $150,000 to clone a dog after he dies, like this couple from Miami?
Absolutely not.
After all, cloned animals or people are not the real thing, no matter how much they look like the source material. Nothing can't replace the original. But even if they were able to clone them complete with memory and personality, aren't there enough amazing dogs in the world to adopt?
Edgar and Nina Otto—who have nine other dogs, 10 cats, six sheep and four parrots in West Boca (no kidding)—thought otherwise. That's why they paid that much cash to clone Lancelot—their beloved Labrador—who died from cancer. A company called BioArts International—partnering with South Korean researcher Dr Hwang Woo-suk—created Lancelot Encore, which is the actual name of Lancelot 2.0. Or better said, Lancelot 1.0 Remastered.
Woo-suk took the genetic material from the original Lancelot—which was extracted when the couple learnt he had cancer—and replaced the genetic material of an egg from a Korean breed similar to the Labrador. After implanting it into a surrogate mother, the cloned Lancelot was born. After that, he was shipped to Miami International, where he became the first single-birth commercial dog clone ever in the United States, according to his parents.
According to Edgard and Nina, he's exactly like the real thing, and has established himself as the alpha male among the other pets the moment he came into the house. To be honest, if I was another dog I would be freaked out to find alive the dog I thought was dead. [Daily Mail
Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at jesus@gizmodo.com.
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