Singer and actress Barbra Streisand reportedly cloned her dead dog twice, according to a report from Variety magazine.
Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett, she said, were cloned from cells obtained from the stomach and mouth of her 14-year-old dog Samantha. The dog died in 2017.
.@BarbraStreisand had her beloved dog Samantha cloned: Meet Miss Scarlett and Miss Violet https://t.co/uN0f8Xdf0Q pic.twitter.com/VDw1uzTU0Y
— Variety (@Variety) February 27, 2018
“They have different personalities,” Streisand said of the dogs. “I’m waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her brown eyes and her seriousness.”
In the report, she didn’t reveal anything else about the cloned dogs, including the cost.
Roses are red
flowers are nice https://t.co/T5PqtlSbNd— A.B. (@AlannaBennett) February 27, 2018
Barbra Streisand says she successfully made two clones of her pet dog, but that they have 'different personalities' https://t.co/Sks7mX6NuF pic.twitter.com/oVlsFJ1jTC
— Business Insider (@businessinsider) February 27, 2018
“She was always with me; the last 14 years she went everywhere I went,” Streisand told The Associated Press after Samantha’s death last year. “She was at every performance. It was like losing a child. It was kind of awful.”
Viagen Pets says it can “produce a genetic twin to your beloved cat for $25,000, or your faithful dog for $50,000.”
.@BarbraStreisand cloned her late dog — twice https://t.co/uN0f8Xdf0Q pic.twitter.com/yhvXGD7Y37
— Variety (@Variety) February 27, 2018
“Furthermore, the process of cloning cats and dogs is relatively new, so the technology is constantly under improvement. Cloning requires a very unique skill set.”
The New York Post also reported that Dr. Phillip Dupont, of Louisiana, spent $100,000 at the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation in South Korea to clone his dog, Melvin. “We took a family vote and my son said, ‘At least you are spending your money on something you love,’” he said.
Sooam said it’s cloned about 80 dogs for Americans since 2007.
ViaGen, based in Texas, says it has cloned two cats. “We decided to step into the companion-animal space because clients kept asking,’’ ViaGen president Blake Russell told the paper. “Over 30 people have already signed contracts, and there is a waiting list.’’
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