March 19, 2024

The puppy has two faces: Streisand on cloning dogs

Sad about losing your beloved poodle? Why not clone them?

Sad about losing your beloved poodle? Why not clone them?

In an interview with Variety magazine last week, singer and actress Barbara Streisand opened up about cloning her long-time soul-pet Samantha for US$50,000.

Samantha passed away in 2004, but Streisand couldn't stand the thought of living without him — so she tried to keep a little bit of him alive:

I just wanted to keep her with me in some way … Sammie’s doctor took some cells from insider her cheek and the skin on her tummy just before she died. And we sent those cells to ViaGen Pets in Texas…

The cloning process unexpectedly produced four puppies, but Streisand gave two away to friends and kept the other two.

Each puppy is unique and has her own personality. You can clone the look of a dog, but you can’t clone the soul.

Still, every time I look at their faces, I think of my Samantha … and smile”.  

Viagen Pets has cloned thousands of animals over the last 15 years, and the company reports that it has a waiting list. “Pet’s lives are very short compared to ours”, Viagen manager Melain Rodriguez said. “So if you can clone that pet and have another one that is very similar, it’s very rewarding”. 

The puppy has two faces: Streisand on cloning dogs
Xavier Symons
Creative commons
https://www.bioedge.org/images/2008images/pet-cloning-is-not-just-for-celebrities-anymore.jpg
cloning
pets
us