Florida couple clones dog for $155k
Every dog has his day, but Sir Lancelot -- or at least his carbon copy -- has a second one.
A Boca Raton, Florida, couple paid a California firm $155,000 to clone their beloved Labrador retriever, who died from cancer a year ago. The clone, a 10-week-old puppy dubbed Lancey, was hand-delivered to them earlier this week by Lou Hawthorne, chairman of BioArts International, a biotechnology company.
Edgar and Nina Otto said they began thinking about cloning Sir Lancelot about five years ago. "I said 'Well, you know, it wouldn't hurt to have his DNA frozen,' and that's what we did," Nina Otto told CNN affiliate WPBF.
The Ottos were one of five families to bid and win a BioArts auction for a chance to clone their family dog, according to a BioArts statement. Lancey is the world's first commercially cloned dog, the company said; the Ottos are the first of six current clients to receive their clone. Sir Lancelot's DNA sample was sent to the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation in Seoul, South Korea, which provides cloning services to BioArts. Researchers there put the DNA into an egg, and Lancey was born November 18, according to BioArts.
"For those looking to replace a lost pet, cloning will not create an animal identical to the one who is gone; cloning cannot replicate an animal's uniqueness. Cloning can only replicate the pet's genetics, which influence but do not determine his physical attributes or personality."
Hopefully that dog runs away and those people are out $155k.
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