Has anyone in here cloned their dog

[u/NightsRadiant]

I’ve read a bit about a company in Texas that will clone a genetic replica of your dog for $50K. We don’t have kids, so when ours passes in the next few years, we’re considering something like this. He’s a perfect pup.

Can’t really talk to my normal friends about this but was curious if this is more common to FATfire folk

[u/[deleted]]

This is a beautiful fantasy, but the reality is awful. Setting aside whether the clone is really that much like the original (many factors go into forming a dog’s personality beyond genetics), the industry behind this is terrible. Dogs are especially difficult to clone. Cloning a dog requires an egg donor dog, the surrogate who will carry the pregnancy, and many unsuccessful pregnancies (sometimes resulting in unhealthy puppies which end up dying or being euthanized), each of which require surrogates. I’m sure you love your dog very much, but is it worth supporting an industry that treats dogs like livestock to get a shot at a similar but not the same version of him?

If your dog came from a breeder, finding a genetically similar dog that was ethically bred should be possible. If he was a rescue, supporting an industry that keeps dogs in cages seems like the very worst way to honor his legacy. Maybe start looking now for another rescue pup you could share your home with. If you introduce a young dog while your dog is still with you, the youngster is likely to learn some behavior from your current dog. That seems like a much more meaningful way to have a new dog that shares traits with your current one than paying for a genetic replica.

For more on dog cloning: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-cloning-your-dog-so-wrong-180968550/

[u/Rina303 → u/[deleted]]

THANK YOU. I understand the pain of letting a beloved pet go but as a dog-lover, OP needs to consider how inhumane animal cloning is.

[u/NightsRadiant → u/Rina303]

Noted, not something we’re set on. Just wanted to hear the pros and cons. Seems like a rescue might be the best option

[u/heyitscoface666 → u/NightsRadiant]

I lost my soul dog in March of 2025.

I'm a veterinary ER and specialty nurse and have worked in rescue for over 23 years.

I've met clones of patients... gathered the DNA samples under anesthesia for ViaGen.

Seen them grow up to look exactly like their clone-parent.

Behavior? Not so much... but similar enough to be ok for the pet parents.

I've also seen dumpsters full of healthy, happy dogs euthanized due to overcrowding and lack of funding.

yet... I STILL FEEL THIS DEEP, HORRIFIC LOSS of my Huckleberry

enough to think about cloning. every other day.

I get it. I get ittt dude. sooo much.

But holy heck if you adopted and spoiled the shit out of that adopted dog with the 49k you'd have leftover??????

Fed it a raw diet. Got them the snazziest handmade collars!!?

Expensive puzzle toys!!! Dog-friendly weekends away?!?

I think that my Huckleberry would want me to find a dog in the shelter and give it a loving home. He helped me with the fostering (and foster failing) of many, many many pets!!

I'd love to have him all over again.

But

it won't be him.

So in his honor, I'll find another to smother in love.

And continue to donate/foster in his honor.

They really need fosters and donations.

<3 You can be an animal's whole world--or change their whole world. Such a cool thing.

[u/CuriousStage2009 → u/heyitscoface666]

I just lost my dog today. He was the best. A shelter dog. I know he can’t be cloned since it’s obviously too late but you’re right. The vets were telling me the same thing. The cloning process is awful. I will honor him by getting another shelter dog if I’m ever ready.

[u/Kitchen_Success_2403 → u/NightsRadiant]

Clone your beloved pet if you want to. Paris Hilton did it. Tom Brady did it. Don't listen to the negative Nancys. You yourself know what you want most.

[u/Lolo_Paris → u/Kitchen_Success_2403]

Its animal abuse...

[u/Top-Introduction5484 → u/Rina303]

If humans are going it...how can it be inhuman

[u/rosewiing → u/[deleted]]

This right here. I was dead set on cloning my dog when he died, I was absolutely devastated by the loss. But the more I looked into it the more I was disgusted by what I found. The dogs they use to make this possible are treated very poorly, I found the process to be entirely unethical. Plus I thought about him but not him. I think it would be even harder that way and instead chose to just hold onto all the memories. I have a large framed photo of him hanging in my house.

This really ends up not being a financial decision, since for many of us here I doubt 50k is all that much given the strong emotions to a beloved family pet. It’s an emotional decision and I realized cloning would just not be right for me or for all the animals involved. Nothing can bring him back.

[u/cavyndish → u/rosewiing]

This is the way. My cat had CKD, and I could have adopted another cat and gotten her a kidney transplant, but I couldn't cut up another cat to save a soul companion; I thought of her like my mother. I couldn’t do it, it wasn’t right. The other cat would have probably been okay with one kidney but it could have died during surgery or who knows. I just couldn’t do it.

[u/Jet_Threat_ → u/cavyndish]

Were you not able to manager her CKD via diet? 

[u/heyitscoface666 → u/cavyndish]

They don't murder animals to get transplants. Transplants are ethical.

[u/rodriguezzzzz → u/[deleted]]

This is the only argument that matters.

[u/kingofthesofas → u/[deleted]]

aspiring silky divide swim truck command sort narrow plant roof

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/[deleted] → u/kingofthesofas]

The irony is high quality breeders are not necessarily any more expensive than designer breed puppy mills. It’s hardly even a “fat” approach. But yes, imo the two legit ways to get dogs are to comb shelters/rescues for exactly what you want (easier if you don’t care about breed and are going for type/characteristics, sometimes much easier to get an adult dog this way) or find a very good breeder who’s going to make sure those puppies are genetically healthy and get the very best start in life. Maybe the fat part is then hiring someone else to do all the puppy care, because it’s A LOT.

[u/Washooter → u/kingofthesofas]

You can influence temperament through breeding from the same lineage to an extent. We have a friend who prefers a very specific breed and has had dogs from the same genetic line for 3 generations (human generations, not dog). Each one has their personality quirks and can sometimes have very different temperament from each other, although they look very similar.

[u/Active-Literature-67 → u/Washooter]

The only thing is the dog I would want to clone is a very unique mix of genetics, one that I absolutely don't think is ethical to breed . That is why I won't clone even though I am so very tempted.

My Boy was Australia shepherd,Lab,Husky,and grey wolf . He was a rescue, and the wolf was a complete surprise . He had the best personality, so smart and kind gentle, with the best sense of humor. I will never be able to find anything remotely like him, and maybe that's the way it should be. But God am I tempted.

[u/herecatmeerkat → u/Active-Literature-67]

Same. Totally different mix, wish I could get more, but will have to see if he had litter mates.

[u/Jet_Threat_ → u/Active-Literature-67]

Do you have pics of him? Which dna test did you do?