There’s probably a lot you know about Barbra Streisand – that her breakthrough was in the movie Funny Girl, that “Evergreen” was one of her biggest hits, and that you’ll never forget the way she said that line, “Your girl is lovely, Hubbell” in The Way We Were. But did you know she’s such a pet lover that she had her favorite dog—an adorable white fluffball–cloned after it died?
She recently told The New York Times: “I was so devastated by the loss of my dear Samantha, after 14 years together, that I just wanted to keep her with me in some way…So Sammie’s doctor took some cells from inside her cheek and the skin on her tummy just before she died. And we sent those cells to ViaGen Pets in Texas.”
Streisand wound up with two puppies who were the offspring of this process. Of them, she’s noted, “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.”
The first cloned dog was created in 2005 in South Korea, and today, it takes about 60 days – and $50,000 – to complete the procedure. While a dog is alive, some cell samples are taken and these are later fused with a canine egg. Basically, a clone is like an identical twin born at a later date.
So, pet lovers, tell us: If the price tag were more affordable, would you clone your beloved pet? Tell us in the survey below.
–Janet Siroto
If our 2-question survey doesn’t show up below, click this link.
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