What happend to commemorative plaques?
BioArts, a California based company, recently held an essay contest that asked “Why Does your Dog Deserve to Be Cloned?” and as the prize, offered to preserve the dog’s DNA and clone it. The winner is a Canadian search and rescue dog named Trakr. Trakr is a 15 year old German Shepard who helped rescue the last survivor from the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001.
BioArt will send Trakr’s DNA to its South Korean partner, the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, and Trakr’s clone should be ready by the end of the year.
Trakr’s owner, ex-police officer James Symington, joyfully declared, “Trakr means the world to me. To know that part of him is going to live on is just beyond words. It’s the greatest gift I’ve every received.”
What do you think? Wasteful? Exciting? Flying cars and bad business for the taxidermy industry?
The future is going to be a strange place.
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:29 am
I am quite torn over this. On one hand.. it is a direct look alike., but on the other… its not the same dog with the same experiences. With the way the economy is right now.. Cloning a dog is the furthest thing from my mind.
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I’m not sure what to say about this one.. But I have to agree — the future is going to be a VERY VERY strange place!
July 9th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Sounds like Trakr is an amazing dog, but I think it’s stupid to have your pet cloned for the purpose of trying to have another pet just like it. Go and adopt a homeless animal instead. Nothing can replace your dog, just because it’s cloned doesnt mean it will look identical, and its personality might be different as well, not to mentioned different experiences and not being raised by the same mother.
July 11th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I think this is absolutely WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!