Reading this nearly made me cry. How I wish I could clone my Gin.
But US$150k or even US$50K is beyond my reach.
There is hope. Maybe in a few years time, when prices go down, I may be able to clone my Gin again. That's why I am still keeping parts of her fur and claws.
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The Straits Times
06 Aug 2008
Dog lover sells house to pay for 5 clones of beloved pet
Commercial cloning of pet dogs in South Korea takes off; camels may be next
SEOUL - THE loss of Booger the pit bull terrier was almost more than Ms Bernann McKinney could bear.
Now she is the happy owner of five cloned Booger puppies, minus US$50,000 (S$68,600) and her house.
'This is a miracle,' said Ms McKinney at a news conference in the South Korean capital. 'I was able to smile again, laugh again and just feel alive again,' she said, blinking back tears of joy as she cuddled the five black puppies - all of whose names include the word Booger.
The puppies were born to two surrogate mothers on July 28, said RNL Bio, the company which arranged for the re-creation of Booger through his refrigerated ear tissue.
Ms McKinney, 58, a movie scriptwriter in California, sold her house to raise the US$50,000 to pay for the cloning. 'I had to make sacrifices and I dream of the day, some day, when everyone can afford to clone his pet because losing a pet is a terrible, terrible loss to anyone.'
She said she would consider training some of the puppies as service dogs for the handicapped or elderly when they arrive at her home next month.
RNL chief executive Ra Jeong Chan hailed the event as the world's first commercial cloning of a pet dog.
The operation was launched in May by a Seoul National University team led by Professor Lee Byeong Chun. He played a key role in creating the world's first cloned dog, an Afghan hound named Snuppy, on a non-commercial basis in 2005.
RNL originally charged US$150,000 to clone Booger. But it agreed to reduce the price to US$50,000 to celebrate what it calls the first commercial deal for a pet dog. The company has said it expects the price to drop as technology improves.
Mr Ra said Booger's case opens the way for global commercial cloning services for pet lovers since the success rate for dogs is high. Up to 300 dogs could be cloned next year for wealthy animal lovers in the United States and elsewhere, he added.
RNL will contest claims by a US dog-cloning firm - BioArts International - that it is infringing on its patent, Mr Ra said. The university would also undertake an ethical review of his firm's business to prevent indiscreet cloning.
'For my next project, I will consider cloning camels for rich people in the Middle East,' he said.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
But US$150k or even US$50K is beyond my reach.
There is hope. Maybe in a few years time, when prices go down, I may be able to clone my Gin again. That's why I am still keeping parts of her fur and claws.
----------------------------
The Straits Times
06 Aug 2008
Dog lover sells house to pay for 5 clones of beloved pet
Commercial cloning of pet dogs in South Korea takes off; camels may be next
SEOUL - THE loss of Booger the pit bull terrier was almost more than Ms Bernann McKinney could bear.
Now she is the happy owner of five cloned Booger puppies, minus US$50,000 (S$68,600) and her house.
'This is a miracle,' said Ms McKinney at a news conference in the South Korean capital. 'I was able to smile again, laugh again and just feel alive again,' she said, blinking back tears of joy as she cuddled the five black puppies - all of whose names include the word Booger.
The puppies were born to two surrogate mothers on July 28, said RNL Bio, the company which arranged for the re-creation of Booger through his refrigerated ear tissue.
Ms McKinney, 58, a movie scriptwriter in California, sold her house to raise the US$50,000 to pay for the cloning. 'I had to make sacrifices and I dream of the day, some day, when everyone can afford to clone his pet because losing a pet is a terrible, terrible loss to anyone.'
She said she would consider training some of the puppies as service dogs for the handicapped or elderly when they arrive at her home next month.
RNL chief executive Ra Jeong Chan hailed the event as the world's first commercial cloning of a pet dog.
The operation was launched in May by a Seoul National University team led by Professor Lee Byeong Chun. He played a key role in creating the world's first cloned dog, an Afghan hound named Snuppy, on a non-commercial basis in 2005.
RNL originally charged US$150,000 to clone Booger. But it agreed to reduce the price to US$50,000 to celebrate what it calls the first commercial deal for a pet dog. The company has said it expects the price to drop as technology improves.
Mr Ra said Booger's case opens the way for global commercial cloning services for pet lovers since the success rate for dogs is high. Up to 300 dogs could be cloned next year for wealthy animal lovers in the United States and elsewhere, he added.
RNL will contest claims by a US dog-cloning firm - BioArts International - that it is infringing on its patent, Mr Ra said. The university would also undertake an ethical review of his firm's business to prevent indiscreet cloning.
'For my next project, I will consider cloning camels for rich people in the Middle East,' he said.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
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