They can bring your pet back, but is it the same?
When Danielle Tarantola’s dog Trouble died, in 2008, she swore she’d get another only if it could be the one she’d had for 18 years.
Four years and $50,000 later, she feels she’s gotten her wish with Double Trouble, New York City’s first cloned pooch to go public.
“His coat is the same — the colors, that white patch, all in the same places,” Tarantola said as she showed off the 13-week-old Lhasa apso mix at her Staten Island home.
“Same voice, same puppy bark. See how he runs and bounces? It’s the same walk.”
Double Trouble even mimics the original dog’s quirks and habits, popping out from under beds to nibble passing feet and flopping flat on the floor to relax.
“I know my dog is dead,” Tarantola said. “But this really is like having him back again.”
But apparently, cloning is more weird science than exact: She’s noticed a big difference in temperament.
“Trouble, as a puppy, was really bonded to my family, not so interested in outsiders,” she recalled. “Double Trouble is much more outgoing and likes to interact with people.”
Double Trouble is the work of the world’s only commercial pet-cloning operation, Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, in South Korea.