It’s been exciting to be receiving so many recent inquiries from loving pet owners around the world about our expansion into pet genetic preservation and cloning. With our delivery in December to a U.S. client of their two adorable twin Siamese cat clones, and with new orders ramping up for genetic preservation for cats and dogs – it seems word about ViaGen Pets is spreading. The types of questions we get from pet owners exploring options for their beloved pets is also interesting – but not at all unexpected.
Most want to know how the cloning process works, how long it takes, and what a cloned cat or dog is like. Since there is so much misinformation floating around about cloning and what it really is, and with so much news in the press recently about dog cloning, we get lots of great questions. We gladly spend as much time as needed explaining to our potential clients – or “pet parents” as we like to call them — that a cloned pet is simply a genetic twin of the pet, born at a later time. We explain that a cloned pet can be expected to share many of the same physical and behavioral traits of the original pet (aka the “donor”), and that the environment in which the new animal is raised in – or any animal for that matter — will also have an influence on their new pet’s behavior.
We provide as much detail about how the process works as the pet owner wants to have and learn. Some want to hear the very technical and scientific overview, others just want to know that animal cloning is a safe and acceptable process – which it is. Many pet owners call us thinking that animal cloning is some weird science that ViaGen Pets dreamed up recently, and are very surprised to learn that this is far from the case. Animal cloning, particularly related to prized horses and livestock, has been going on for decades, and is an accepted practice around the world.
Some pet owners we speak to aren’t yet sure if cloning their pet is something they want to do, but want to know if there are other things they can do to safely protect and ensure that their beloved cat or dog family member can be cloned at a later date. The answer to this frequent question is a resounding “yes”. We tell them how easy and fast it is to do a genetic preservation (GP) of their pet’s DNA, which is the mandatory first step toward cloning at any time in the future. This important step is easy insurance in the event their pet becomes gravely and unexpectedly ill, has an accident and dies, or ages and passes away naturally.
One other question we are asked often, and which is an important one, is about confidentiality. We understand the sensitivities surrounding the consideration of pet genetic preservation and cloning and the vast importance of keeping things confidential. As with many businesses, the relationships we hold dear with our clients are based upon trust and confidence. We have always delivered the highest levels of client experience in this way, and will always continue to do so.