Thursday, 7 January 2016

Plain Folk

Last June a West Yorkshire couple lost their beloved boxer Dylan to a brain tumor. They paid £67,000 (almost $100,000) to have him cloned by a South Korean firm. Last week two surrogate dogs each gave birth to a puppy with markings that precisely match Dylan’s. The cloned puppies were named Chance and Shadow after characters in the Disney movie Homeward Bound. They’ll be able to go home to the UK in July, after their quarantine period has ended. I find myself wondering; if money was no object (it is, believe me) would I have chosen to reproduce any of the dogs I’ve owned? As much as I’ve cherished every one of them, I’d have to say the answer is no. Chance and Shadow might grow up to look exactly like Dylan, but they won’t BE Dylan. They’ll each have their own absolutely unique personality – the very thing you miss the most when your best friend is gone.

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