Puppy Love

By Colleen McVey

       Did you hear this week's story about the Florida couple who loved their dog so much that they cloned him?  They saved the Labrador's DNA and when he died they paid a California company $155,000 to clone him in Korea.

Now, I know what it is like to love a dog. My dog, Allie, is part of our family and my constant companion - but isn't cloning and spending that much money way over the top?

As I read the report, I couldn't help but think of all the ways that money could be spent. How about putting a child through college?  Feeding a family in need?  Helping someone save their home from foreclosure - and the list goes on and on and on.

This couple obviously loves dogs (they have 10) and they can do what they please with their money, but I  don't get it.  Cloning is an extremely expensive, temporary fix.  Like their beloved "Lancelot," "Lancelot Encore" (yes, that's the puppy's name) will also die someday. There's no amount of money that will stop that from happening.

Instead of cloning, what about adopting?  I love those bumper stickers I see all the time that say, "Don't Shop - Adopt".

I've had three dogs - all adopted - and I know we gave them a better life and vice versa.

We got Allie six years ago. She was dropped off with all sorts of physical and emotional problems. We got rid of the worms, fleas, ticks, and eye infection with medicines and surgery, but the emotional issues were another challenge. Allie, who was a year old, was never socialized so she was afraid of everyone and everything. After years of love and patience, she is an amazing dog.

Even if I had $155,000 to spend, I would not clone the dog I love so much. I know I will lose her someday, and then, after awhile, (the last time I had to wait six years) I will adopt again. 

   

    

Comments

[SUSAN L.RUDNICK]

DEAR COLLEEN; WE LOST OUR BELOVED GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG "ALITA" TWO YEARS AGO TO SPLEEN CANCER.SHE WAS ALMOST TEN YEARS OLD YOUNG.OUR ENTIRE FAMILY WAS DEVASTATED BY HER ILLNESS AND WE DECIDED TO LET HER DIE PEACEFULLY @ A LOCAL SPECIALTY HOSPITAL IN WESTBURY.THE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT FROM HER DOCTOR AND THE SUPPORT STAFF @ THE HOSPITAL WAS OVERWHELMING.WE MISS HER TERRIBLY,BUT I WOULD NEVER THINK TO HAVE CLONED HER.SHE WAS WITH US FOR THE TIME GOD ALOTTED HER TO US.WE HAVE TO RESPECT NATURE AND LOVE AND CHERISH HER MEMORY.SOMEDAY WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER DOG I'M SURE OF IT;BUT FOR NOW HER MEMORY IS STILL TOO FRESH FOR US TO REPLACE HER.LIKE YOUR "ALLIE" SHE WAS A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE RUDNICK FAMILY FOR A WONDERFUL TEN YEARS.BE WELL SUSAN L.RUDNICK & FAMILY.

[John]

A couple of thoughts come to mind, in no particular order:

- The cloned dog isn't even the original any more than your twin, if you had one, would be you. For all we know, the Koreans just sent over an unrelated dog that looked pretty similar...which would be a highly profitable business model, now that I think about it.

- I assume that the drive for doing this isn't really honoring the lost pet, but more likely being the first person on your block to own a clone. Sort of like the friend we all have who bought a plasma television when they cost tens of thousands of dollars.

- It's an embarrassment to our scientific community that this money is going overseas at all, when all the related science was pioneered in the United States and a lot of it here on Long Island. If we, as a society, hadn't run around in circles for the last few decades, the cloning company would probably be quite local. Inane as the product is, that enormous amount of money could well have been circulating in our backyards, rather than propping up the Korean economy.

On the other hand, at least the couple didn't waste years of savings making some criminal investment banker rich, right?