Cloning Pets

[NicoleLJ]

I was watching Anderson the other day and he had a lady on that had had her dog cloned. I was wondering what people thought about that. Might make an interesting discussion.

If I remember correctly she said 7 embros were made and implanted. 2 surived. Of the two that were born one had some physical issues, one being a cleft palette. And the other one was sent to her. The puppy is under a year and she is getting another clone of the same dog in a month. So she will have two clones of a dog that passed on. Cost. $50, 000 each.

Personally I can't see myself ever doing this. One cloning is not a sure thing. From what I have read life spans are shorter, coat colors can be different, deformaties can occur and so on. Plus you can't clone a personality. So I could get a dog that looks like Sheena but personality wise is not Sheena. If you get what I mean. Plus there are so many things I could do with that money. I could get a very well bred dog from a breeder and donate the rest to animal rescue and so on. I just can't ever see myself doing it.

For others I can't say. Their money, their choice. But for me nope. What are your thoughts?

 

[SugarFairy]

My husband was talking about this the other day. He said he'd want to clone one of our cats. I don't think he was thinking about the money bit though lol. But we lost a cat when he was just over a year old. His name was Max. We'd had him 11 months and he died of poisoning. He was MY cat, trusted me wholly, slept with me in our bed, was always with me. He was my "soul cat". My husband had never really loved a cat before and he took it really hard when Max died, as did I. It took us a long time to get over him and I'm actually crying just writing this, even now. Its been nearly a year. We do now have another special cat, Samson. He is amazing too. My husband is scared of losing him. He is a house cat, never goes out because he's so soft that someone might take advantage of that fact. So my husband said he'd want to get Sammy cloned so we could always have him. But I don't think it works like that. Although genetically identical, another Samson might end up different because of one tiny environmental change. So hopefully we'll get a good 15 - 20 years of Samson and then take in another boy and use our own personalities to help him become just as amazing as his predecessors. I think thats the best way x

 

[vaniilla]

I'm not really a fan because of what it means, cloning anything just means that you get something that looks the same but it's not the same thing still, that cloned dog will be completely different because it is different dog apart from how it looks so it's no different to getting a dog of the same breed which looks similar, I don't think it's wrong but I do question the medical ethics of it.

 

[SKATERBUN]

Its totally unethical to clone anything imo

 

[OnErth&InHvn]

we have 4 dogs. 3 lab mixes and 1 beagle and TBH the ONLY one id ever consider cloning is my dog, Faith and thats just because i think shes an awesome dog, but i wouldnt ever literally clone her.

the only reason i wouldnt the other 3 is because they are the goofiest, off the wall dogs ever. I have a full blooded lab who sounds like Chewie from StarWars, a Lab mix (no beagle in him, we have the DNA test) who howls, and a beagle who doesnt howl and thinks hes a tough guy with puppy eyes.

 

[Armywife84]

I think that was a waste of money..because a clone is not the same beloved dog you had before. Sure it looks and barks the same, but personality is everything in an animal.

She could've rescued a dog from a local shelter and donated money to help out those organizations. Rescue dogs/cats are eternally grateful and loving that you gave them a decent home. $50,000 can't ensure you're getting a loving, grateful pet.

 

[hellohefalump]

If I had the money to spare, and if you could clone personality, then I'd get my cat, Fang, cloned when he dies. He is the sweetest natured cat you could ever meet. You said you can't clone personality though... so what's the point?

 

[Sarahkka]

I actually find this quasi-unethical. It seems like a very very frivolous and sketchy way to be using our genetic engineering resources.
And with the number of animals in shelters, desperate for a home, it makes me kind of sick to think that someone would indulge in this kind of thing.

 

[NicoleLJ]

THis whole thing has made me think of a story I read. It was from a book of short stories. The book itself is called Not Of Woman Born. The story is called Of Bitches Born by Michael Armstrong. This is the main quote on the first page:

"When we are able to breed only the very best, man's best friends have no choice but to be born, over and over and over. Does the very best mean anything then?"

What it is about is sled dog races. All the teams except one are made up of clones of clones of the distant pasts best sled dogs. They all have very short life spans and when stressed can die. The only dogs since cloning to win the sled dog races are clones. Never naturally born races. During the race a tangle up on the track causes all but two or three teams of sled dogs to die. The result being the naturally born team wins. It is an interesting read and does pose a lot of good questions to cloning.