Mr. Egenrieder's Science Reprints February 2000
See Spot Rerun:
Company Offers Pet Cloning
Wednesday, February 16, 2000
Mr. Egenrieder's Science Reprints February 2000
There are 55 million pet dogs in America, and about 10 percent of them die every year.
Today "Genetic Savings and Clone", became the nation's first pet cloning business. Cloning is the process of making an exact copy of a living organism (plant or animals) from tissues from its body.
The company stores DNA from old or dying pets for future life at the world's only scientific laboratory for cloning dogs and other pets.
But no one, has succeeded in cloning a dog or cat, not even the company's owner.
People may not be ready to clone themselves or their relatives, but they may be willing to clone their pet.
The company is the result of a project to clone a mixed Border collie mutt named Missy. One scientist said a clone of Missy clone could be born this year.
The company receives many phone calls from people that are interested in cloning because their pet is dying or got hit by a car, or because their dog or cat is just getting old.
Orders via the company's Web site, www.savingsandclone.com must go through a veterinarian, because minor surgery is required to get the needed tissue samples from the animal's abdomen and inner cheek.
The company provides special mailing packs to speed delivery to lab in Texas. When the technology for cloning is ready, the team will turn the frozen cells into embryos. The new embryos will be transferred to the wombs of mother pets. The company hopes to also clone endangered species.
At least three other companies offer similar storage services for pets, including PerPETuate of Farmington, Conn.; Lazaron BioTechnologies of Baton Rouge, La.; and Canine Cryobank of San Marcos, Calif. But the Texas lab is the only one that plans to clone dogs, cats and other pets.
Tissue storage fees range from $1,000 to $2,500, but the company predicted cloning may cost a few hundred thousand dollars. After it became popular, the cost may drop to about $25,000 within three years.
However, not everyone agrees that the country is in need of cloned pets.
Many people who work in animal shelters say we should work harder to save animals that are already living. They want people to adopt a dog or cat from a local animal shelter.
Other people believe the new business will not be successful.
Dr. Wilmut is the man who is famous because he cloned the sheep named Dolly. He says that people may be disappointed. The pet's colors and personality will probably not be the same in the clone as they were in the original.
Mr. Egenrieder's Science Reprints February 2000
This is an edited version of a Wednesday, February 16, 2000 article by Washington Post staff writer Richard Weiss. It was edited for a wider variety of reading levels.