Florida Dog Cloned for $155,000
Over the years, losing my dogs has been among the saddest things I’ve ever experienced. That said, I got over it and moved on. Wendy and Raptor are in a better place now (or at least not trapped in bodies riddled with cancer). It seems one couple in Florida couldn’t quite get past the idea that their dear old dog was gone and decided to have him cloned.
DNA samples of Edgar and Nina Otto’s golden labrador, Sir Lancelot, were taken and frozen years ago. When Lancelot finally passed away (cancer, similar to poor Wendy) last January, the couple sent the DNA samples to BioArts International in South Korea, which in turn created a clone of Lancelot. The Biotech Research Foundation is led by Hwang Woo-suk, the scientist who lost his job at Seoul National University in 2004 when he lied about creating the first clones of human embryos and stem cells.
The couple bid $155,000 to have Lance cloned and named the 10 week old puppy Lancelot Encore. Was it worth it? Well, the couple clearly adore their dog. In statements made to the media both Edgar and Nina have lavished praise on the dog they spent 11 years with.
"Sir Lancelot was the most human of any dog we've ever had," Edgar Otto said in the BioArts statement. "He was a prince among dogs."
The couples’ feelings aside, there’s a significant number of people who think spending so much money on cloning a pet when there’s an endless number of dogs in shelters and pounds looking for homes is wasteful. For the record the couple claims to have donated more than the sum they paid for Lancelot Encore to the Humane Society of the United States. That said, according to CNN, The Humane Society of the United States says it’s against the cloning of animals.
So what’s the verdict, creepy or caring?
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Well, in this case, Caring is Creepy.
On one hand you can sort of see how they have the money to spend, so why not spend it on something that brings them a lot of joy, but OTOH, you sort of wonder if they would want to do the same sort of thing if they lost a child.
Dude, we've worked together for who knows how long and only now am I starting to see the inner-workings of your mind. That vision will likely never leave me.
Let me be the first to bring up that wonderful Arnold Schwarzenegger classic, Sixth Day.
Hopefully, these people don't expect their new puppy to remember its old tricks. Its a completely different dog, just with the same genetic makeup. It's like an identical twin, and any twins' parents can tell you, their kids are individuals regardless of how similar they are in appearance.
yea...that thing isn't their dog. It is a dog, and I'm sure it is a great dog too, but it isn't the dog they lost....might as well have spent the money on a robot version.
Let me be the first to bring up that wonderful Arnold Schwarzenegger classic, Sixth Day.Hopefully, these people don't expect their new puppy to remember its old tricks. Its a completely different dog, just with the same genetic makeup. It's like an identical twin, and any twins' parents can tell you, their kids are individuals regardless of how similar they are in appearance.
Yup. They bought a very expensive new puppy.
Could you lie though?? Send them any old DNA ("Yup, it's hair from dear old Spot, cross my heart!") any have them cook up some weird half tortoise half parrot hybrid? I'd pay $15,000 for a Parrotort any day just for the look on it's face when it tried to fly. Other than that, yes - a novel waste of $15,000.
Could you lie though?? Send them any old DNA ("Yup, it's hair from dear old Spot, cross my heart!") any have them cook up some weird half tortoise half parrot hybrid? I'd pay $15,000 for a Parrotort any day just for the look on it's face when it tried to fly. Other than that, yes - a novel waste of $15,000.
It wasn't $15,000, it was $155,000.
might as well have spent the money on a robot version.
At least you can load up a robot with it's old memory.
Cloaning is like dating a CO-worker... You know you shouldn't but you do anyway.
I think if they have 155k to spare, and it makes them happy, go for it!
they should donate all that money to animal shelters. there is nothing wrong with stem cell technology but cloning your dead pet is messed up.
i think for less money they could have put their pet in cryostasis at Alcor and then they would maybe have been able to get their original pet back in the future assuming biotechnology is ever able to get as powerful as some scientists hope.
I believe cloning is a useful tool that will come in handy in the future. However acts like this is simply abusing the science. It shouldn't be used to bring back deceased pets.
Sure it's creepy, but it's also pretty damn cool.
I'm anxious to see whether this dog behaves quite like the last. Yeah, it's nearly the same dog, but it won't have the same life experiences as the first. Thus, it may not end up the same way. I guess, in time, they'll find out.
Unfortunately, I doubt modern science has come along enough for this pet to live problem free. I'm sure there will be some severe medical side effects.
who the hell thumbed me down and why the hell would they do that for what i said?
Money and all that aside, who the hell names a dog Sir Lancelot? People come up with some weird names these days for animals, whatever happened to the classics, like Beau, Lassy, Scooter, Turbo, things of that nature. =/