Cloning a Pet Vs. Spending Money on Cars, Jewels, Sports Gear

I wonder if the critics of pet cloning blow thousands of dollars on pieces of art that look like a 5-year-old did it, or on fishing and hunting equipment that hardly gets used, or on diamond jewelry. Pet cloning (e.g., dogs and cats) is as legitimate an expenditure as is spending the same amount of money on a car that can't love you back.

Ever hear of a gene bank for your dog or cat? ViaGen is a gene-banking service; they will store cellular material from your pet, in the event that you decide to one day clone your deceased pet.

Several years ago I heard about a woman who paid $50,000 to have her cat cloned. She said the clone behaves just like the donor cat (which had died, of course). My brother, if he knew this, would think it was absolutely insane. Yet he bought his wife a $70,000 diamond ring! And since he became rich, he's never owned a car under $50,000. Go figure, when he thinks pet cloning is for the birds.

There has been lots of criticism directed towards people who'd like to clone their pets. Critics often say, "Why spend thousands of dollars to clone your cat when there are thousands of cats waiting for adoption?" To a pet owner, this is like saying, "Why clone your beloved daughter, who'll be dead in six months from cancer, when you can just adopt some kid from an orphanage?"

Pets are like children to many people. Dogs and cats have distinct personalities. They do more than just defecate, eat and sleep.

Another argument against pet cloning is that the clone will NOT be a duplicate of the original. But why not? If someone raises the clone the way they took care of the donor, the personality of the clone should be eerily similar. The clone will be reared in the same environment by the same humans as the donor. Why would the personality be much different?

A clone is a duplicate of the same genetic material. Maybe circumstances in the gestational dog-carrier's womb might alter, say, the shape of one of the clone's ears. But for all practical purposes, the clone will look just like the original pet. And act like him, too.

The last argument is the expenditure of tens of thousands of dollars. Few will criticize the man who spends $50,000 a year on vacations, or the woman who buys $50,000 worth of diamonds.

So why is it such a travesty to drop this kind of money on a clone of your pet? Diamonds can't love you back. And you can't hug a vacation.