American woman overjoyed as former pit bull cloned

[rbennett]

<p>From Yahoo News:</p>
<p>What do you think about this story?</p>
<p>SEOUL (AFP) - An American woman blinked back tears of joy Tuesday as she cuddled puppies cloned in South Korea from her beloved former pit bull terrier.<br />'This is a miracle," said Bernann McKinney from Hollywood in California, hugging five clones of Booger at Seoul National University's veterinary school.<br /><br />RNL Bio, the company which arranged the re-creation of Booger through his refrigerated ear tissue, hailed the event as the world's first commercial cloning of a pet dog.<br /><br />"This is my first birthday present. These guys gave me the best present," said McKinney, a film scriptwriter who turns 58 on Wednesday.<br /><br />The five clones were born from two surrogate mothers on July 28, said Ra Jeong-Chan, CEO of RNL Bio which has launched a commercial dog cloning service in cooperation with the Seoul National University (SNU) scientists.<br /><br />"They are perfectly the same as their daddy. I am in heaven here. I am a happy person," McKinney said, recalling her years with Booger who saved her life by chasing off a ferocious mastiff which bit her severely.<br /><br />She said she would consider training some of the pups as service dogs for the handicapped or elderly when they arrive at her home in September.</p>

[amabsher]

<p>Wow... to me this is wrong on so many levels I am not sure where to start.</p>
<p>First of all... Cloning a dog or any other thing for that matter will not bring back a trusted friend.</p>
<p>What makes a dog special is it's unique personality which occurs through the effects of what has happened in the dogs life to make them be the way they are. Cloning is also not an exact duplicate as there are several combinations in which chromosomes and genes can combine to make any assortment of possible traits so just because you put all the same ingredients in the "batch" ... doesn't mean that they will all combine and present exactly what you have taken the ingredients from the "recipe" from.</p>
<p>Additionally, I have to say that I have my concerns about any species which has been created based on a limmited Gene Pool... This goes against everything I know about the importence of gene diversity and how the lack of it can create serious and irreversible health problems that compound with each generation... I hope these dogs are sterile just for the sake of not diluting the gene pool of yet another species.</p>
<p>Here is a link to what is going on in the world of Dog related Genetic Research http://canine-genetics.com/&nbsp;it has some very easy to understand information about why so many of us... including dogs... are sick with genetic diseases and why we now have such a high occurance of cancer in some species and breeds.</p>
<p>On a more compassionate note: I am happy for the lady who feels like she has her dog back... I too have lost some of my best furry friends and understand the pain of the loss as well as the desire to want back your dog. So if this makes her feel better... good for her! But, please don't breed cloned animals for all of our sakes.</p>

[Juju]

<p>Wow... but... you know, I don't think I'd want another 'instance' of my favorite pet. Each one is so special and if you just keep going after the same animal you'll miss out on the amazing little personality traits of a new pet.</p>
<p>But still - Wow!</p>

[Wildbraveducky]

<p>I have just 1 question. Who names their dog BOOGER?</p>

[rbennett]

<p>Scampi - I think you've blown this story wide open by catching the one thing we all missed </p>

[redneck]

<p>No man has the right to play God! I strongly disagree with this, it is wrong!</p>

[nic]

<p>i am very new to the whole doggie scene...but this really seems wierd to me.....i would be afraid of the results of breeding the cloned puppies....i don't believe this replaces the feelings for her loss of the other dog...</p>

[cherokeegirl]

I just lost my puppy Rex on monday morning, and if I had him cloned it still wouldn't be the same. yes he would look like him but it couldn't replace him in my heart and in my mind. nobody should try to play God.

[TexanBorn]

<p>How did the beloved dog become a "former pit bull", what has Booger become now?</p>
<p>Man should not play at being god.&nbsp; We&nbsp;become a&nbsp;sad, sad imitation when we do.</p>

[whiteusmc75]

<p>I think that this really odd... you can't replace an animal by making one just like it. I am personally not a big fan of the idea but I guess to each their own... just very strange &amp; not natural to me.</p>

[death1life2]

<p>It is not only immoral, but it also adds on to the overpopulation problem we have been having for years! Now even more than 10 million dogs will be euthanized annually because of ignorant and selfish humans! This lady should be kept in an animal control building for at least a week so that she she can see 115 helpless dogs being euthanized per day.</p>
<p>Please people, do not BUY dogs...especially from puppy stores. Instead, you should rescue a dog or two...they have a very short deadline to live...especially when they are in animal control's hands. Puppies from breeders don't have deadlines...they don't need you to buy them. You can find SO MANY purebred dogs in rescues and shelters...look online for a breed specific rescue if you want a purebred dog!&nbsp; Be patient...you can find&nbsp; him/her...you can save a life! Please, they need your help.....they need to be rescued.....</p>

[ashbuddy95]

<p>i to think that no matter how many times you clone a dog it still wouldnt be the same as the first dog that wasnt cloned. i just lost my dog buddy last year because my aunt had starved him. i dont think that if i were to clone him he just wouldnt be the same at all</p>

[KatelynsCockapoos]

<p>yeah its wrong and who would want to clone a pit bull when you can get 4 for 200$</p>

[KatelynsCockapoos]

<p>Why would any one even?????????</p>