We all get attached to our dogs, but is there really any good reason to clone them? For one California woman whose life was saved by her now-deceased pit bull, the answer is an emphatic "yes." Bernann McKunney has submitted an order to a South Korean biotech company to have her dead dog "Booger" resurrected. It'll be the first commercially cloned dog, but not the first commercially cloned pet: A Texas woman paid $50,000 in 2004 to have a kitten cloned from her adored cat.
Life-saving pooch or not, there's really no excuse for cloning dogs and cats in a world where so many homeless pets are euthanized annually. I balk at the thought of the $150,000 McKunney is blowing on this, when she could donate that money to an animal shelter and adopt a dog in need.
Meanwhile, everybody's favorite Dog Whisperer, Cesar Milan, has launched a branded merchandise line "comprised of primarily organic, environmentally-friendly and stringently-tested dog products for all breeds and sizes." I'll bet he'd say spending $150,000 to clone your deceased dog means that you're in need of some serious "rules, boundaries, and limitations."
In other animal news, the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency have finally agreed to explore and share new technologies that will ultimately phase out animal testing. Among other things, computers and robots will take the place of rodents and primates.
Speaking of animals, check out the totally awesome Continuum of Cute, an interactive, "inter-species beauty contest" which "investigates both our individual and collective sense of the 'cute.'"
And finally, this little guy wants to help you clean your computer screen, and he's really, really good at it.
Related: Hey Fatty, Your Dog is Fat Too
Touche. Sound arguments. Keep up the great work.|