Exclusive | I spent $50K cloning my dead dog —…
When Venessa Johnson first laid eyes on her new pet Ollie, the lovable, 8-week-old Shih Tzu appeared more than a little acquainted.
Everything about him — his little nostril, his mannerisms — introduced back bittersweet reminiscences of her late, beloved companion Oliver, who handed away in December of last yr.
“It was strange because it was Oliver’s eyes looking at me, but it was not wholly him,” Johnson, 48, told The Post of her first, emotional assembly with Ollie in upstate New York not too long ago, 1000’s of miles away from her home on the West Coast.
Venessa Johnson (proper) flew from Southern California to western New York to acquire Ollie, an 8-week-old Shih Tzu pet clone of her beloved dog Oliver, who died in 2024. Matt Burkhartt for N.Y.Post
There was a good cause for the uncanny canine coincidence: cloning.
Ollie is Oliver’s doggelgänger.
Thanks to radical developments in technology, the one that you love pet — or at least a model of him or her — can now live endlessly, utilizing tissue samples collected before their death.
Once a quirky novelty reserved for wealthy celebrities such as Barbra Streisand and Paris Hilton, unusual Americans are more and more opting to clone their cats and canines — turning to corporations that charge upwards of $50,000 for the privilege.
Now, a new wave of boldfaced names are leaping on the development — Tom Brady, who not too long ago cloned his household dog, Lua, has even invested in the technology that gave him the second-gen pitbull combine.
The emotional assembly passed off at the Frederick Douglass Rochester International Airport, where an worker from ViaGen, a chief in pet cloning, delivered Johnson’s new furry companion. Matt Burkhartt for N.Y.Post
Losing Oliver was a devastating expertise for Johnson, 48, who realized about cloning choices while researching how to deal with grief over the loss of a pet. Matt Burkhartt for N.Y.Post
Once a quirky novelty reserved for wealthy celebrities, Johnson is among the growing quantity of Americans opting to clone their pets. Matt Burkhartt for N.Y.Post
Supporters call it a scientific miracle, permitting animal lovers an eternal bond with their furry pals.
Critics, on the other hand, declare pet cloning opens a Pandora’s Box of moral points. Mortality — and, by extension, morality — are, they are saying, fairly actually going to the canines.
‘A ray of hope’
Losing Oliver was devastating for Johnson, an Amazon government residing in Los Angeles. After rescuing him in 2013, the 2 grew to become inseparable.
“I don’t have kids; I’m single,” she said. “We were together 24/7. I brought him everywhere.”
Oliver’s premature passing last yr, just before Christmas, despatched the devoted dog mother into a spiral of unrelenting grief.
Everything about Ollie introduced back reminiscences of Oliver, Johnson said of their first assembly. Matt Burkhartt for N.Y.Post
Amidst her devastation, she turned to the web and discovered ViaGen — a Texas-based biotech company “devoted to perfecting the genetic replication” of canines, cats and horses.
“I was Googling ‘What to do after the loss of your dog,’ and something came up about cloning,” Johnson recalled. “I was kind of like, ‘Wait, what? That’s a thing?’… It gave me a lifeline where I felt a ray of hope, having a piece of Oliver to continue on.”
Cloning works by utilizing what scientists call somatic cell nuclear switch — the strategy famously and controversially used to clone Dolly the Sheep in 1996.
Johnson holds Oliver, a rescue dog she took home in 2013. After his passing in late 2024, she selected to clone him utilizing a tissue pattern taken and saved while Oliver was alive.
Using the collected tissue pattern, the nucleus from the physique cell is inserted into a donor egg that has already had its own nucleus eliminated. The consequence: An embryo that is then implanted into a surrogate mom who will carry and give start to the clone.
Fueled by a need to have Oliver back at whatever value, Johnson forked over $50,000 to ViaGen — against advice from her household and pals.
“Everybody told me to wait, but I just couldn’t listen,” she acknowledged. “My head wasn’t clear.”
Against the advice of household and pals, Johnson selected to go through with the dear and controversial cloning course of. “Everybody told me to wait,” she told The Post. Matt Burkhartt for N.Y.Post
ViaGen, which was acquired by Dallas-headquartered Colossal Biosciences last month, stories a close to 80% success price with cloning.
Back in 2018, a Columbia University examine claimed an industry-wide success price of just 20% — stating at the time that a number of implantation procedures can be required, in most instances. At the time, a examine creator warned against the observe, saying that it “doesn’t actually provide any medical benefit to the health of a pet or to people.”
Animal rights advocates aren’t followers of the development, either — both PETA and the ASPCA have spoken out loudly against pet cloning, advocating for adoption instead, as shelters overflow with animals in need of properties.
Three’s company
After dropping her Pinscher named Feto, Seattle resident Kay opted for cloning — and wound up with three little Fetos in the method. SAY WOOF STUDIOS, SEATTLE
Kay, a 37-year-old software program developer from Seattle, also turned to ViaGen after dropping her 18-year-old Pinscher, Feto, last spring.
Like Johnson, Kay works in tech, doesn’t have kids, and paid $50,000 for the cloning course of.
However, she bought a little more bang for her buck, ending up with not one, not two, but three Feto clones.
“It feels stupid to say out loud, but it felt like reaching across the universe back in time,” Kay explained to The Post of the emotional expertise, which she said fully overwhelmed her.
The second Kay laid eyes on the too-cute trio — which she named Feto 4, Feto 5, and Feto 6 after their microchip numbers — she was immediately transported back to the day she first met Feto The First, almost 20 years in the past.
“I cloned him once, technically, but sometimes the science results in multiple puppies,” she said.
While the pups are “really similar” — Kay said the pups all odor the same as the unique Feto, and have had no inside lavatory accidents since arriving home because they whimper in the same approach he did, when they need to go.
“I immediately knew the difference between their ‘I don’t want to be in here or ‘I need to go [to the bathroom] whines. Doing that with three, I was like, ‘Holy crap, how is this happening?‘”
Kay described assembly the pups as reaching “back in time” to her early years with Feto (pictured), who died last spring. Supplied
In addition, each one takes on different traits of their ancestor, she reported.
“One of them nibbles on me a little bit, and that’s what Feto did,” Kay explained. “They all have different items of him proper now.“
She plans to raise all three pups herself and hopes they’ll wind up an identical. However, there are no ensures, according to veterinarian Dr. Rebecca Greenstein.
Greenstein told The Post that those contemplating cloning their pets shouldn’t anticipate precise replicas.
“There’s obviously quite a strong debate about nature versus nature,” the Toronto-based doc declared.
“Could you really say that they’re exposed to the same environmental factors? Are they fed the same diet? Are they exposed to the same levels of pollution? Does the owner behave identically with the first one as they do the second?” she continued. “I suppose there are a lot of just situational elements that we haven’t accounted for.“
“So while the physical appearance may very closely match that of the deceased [original], the personality isn’t necessarily going to be the same.”
ViaGen says cloned animals can live just as long as the unique, and Greenstein said there’s no cause to consider that’s not the case.
In an investigation carried out by CBS News in 2024, ViaGen was discovered to be in compliance with USDA rules and animal welfare guidelines.
Since 2015, the company has cloned more than a thousand cats and canines, according to the report.
Pet remorse?
Johnson admitted to feeling conflicted over her choice, which she said she made while deeply grieving over Oliver’s loss. Matt Burkhartt for N.Y.Post
Both Johnson and Kay admit to feeling conflicted while pursuing the cloning path — Johnson even said she started to remorse her alternative, as she started to heal from the pain of dropping Oliver.
“This is a decision I made in a really deep amount of profound grief,” she told The Post, before her journey back East to choose up Ollie. “I would not make this decision again. There are so many amazing dogs in shelters, that are overcrowded right now.”
“It’s not a straightforward thing. I think that there’s something super special about Oliver being unique, and us having a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love and loyalty and devotion to each other,” she mused.
Three weeks after assembly her new companion, Johnson was feeling guardedly optimistic.
After assembly Ollie, Johnson said she’s “happier and happier” about her alternative, the more she will get to know her new companion. Matt Burkhartt for N.Y.Post
“I’m happier and happier that I did this,” she told The Post from her home in L.A. “Ollie’s little walk, the way he runs in the grass and burrows into the bed, all remind me of Oliver, and that is really remarkable. It’s not a straightforward thing.”
Up in Seattle, Kay reported feeling equally about Feto.
“If I had to give advice to anybody, it would be to wait, because you don’t want to make decisions when you’re grieving,” she acknowledged. “It’s a gray area, I know the full implications. But now, I’m really happy I did this. This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
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