While thinking about life going on without your beloved pet is painful, this Texas company promises to use your pet's DNA to clone them. They successfully cloned a famous rodeo horse, Topper, and the new foal was born just a few weeks ago. The company is charging $85,000 to clone a horse, $50,000 to clone a dog, and $35,000 to clone a cat.
The company, Viagen Pets, has seen success with their cloning projects. Melanie Rodriguez, who works with the compnay, cloned her Bengal cat, Benji. “Personality is very, very similar,” said Rodriguez of Benji. “He’s a very laid back, easy going cat. And that’s not typical of the breed.”
Rodriguez then explained the cloning process. A vet takes a biopsy, then sends it off to a lab. “We preserve the DNA through the genetic preservation, you’re not obligated to clone — that gives you the option at any point in the future,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez says that as the technology is refined, that hefty price would go down.
“It helps ease the pain and the grief knowing that there’s that potential to have a little piece of them back,” said Rodriguez. "You can spend $40,000 on a new vehicle or you could clone your pet, and the vehicle doesn’t love you back.”
She advises that if you ever want to consider cloning your pet, you should think about it while they are still alive.