Fido's Clone Just Ain't Fido

Doggie behavior, physical traits can differ
By Ambreen Ali,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 1, 2009 10:43 AM CST

Lou Hawthorne's canine cloning business is well on its way—with clients paying upwards of $130,000 to duplicate their pets—but the copies of his own beloved family dog have hardly replaced her. Clones Mira and MissyToo vary in size and color, and Hawthorne's mother—keeper of the original Missy, now deceased—refuses to keep the genetic offspring, saying they lack the donor's robust calm.

Variances can show up during cloning, which combines the original dog's DNA and a DNA-stripped embryo of another dog inside a third dog's uterus. Also, many of the beloved characteristics of highly trainable pets come from nurture, not nature—and can't be copied. Still optimistic, the owner of a cloned Labrador says, "Cloning means you could have the same dog with you for your entire life."
(More animal cloning stories.)

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