Curious about cloning? This once-controversial process is becoming increasingly commonplace.
Most pet parents agree that dogs’ lifespans are far too short. Sadly, scientists haven’t discovered a way to make canines immortal. But cloning offers an alternative solution that can make saying goodbye to your beloved companion a bit easier.
To learn more, Canadian Dogs Annual spoke to Lauren Aston, Marketing Coordinator at ViaGen – the world leader in animal cloning.
CDA: Briefly describe the services ViaGen offers to dog parents.
LA: ViaGen Pets provides DNA storage (Genetic Preservation) and Cloning (producing a genetic twin) for your pets.
CDA: What is a cloned dog?
LA: A cloned dog is a genetic twin to your original dog just born at a later time and place than the original.
CDA: Can cloned dogs live full, happy lives?
LA: An in-depth study has shown that cloned animals can live just as long as any conventionally bred animals.
CDA: Are they more prone to health issues?
LA: No, cloned animals are not more prone to health issues. Since they do carry the same genetic makeup of the original dog they may have a predisposition to any genetically linked illnesses the original pet may have experienced.
CDA: What are the first steps for pet parents interested in cloning their animal companion?
LA: The first and most critical step, whether you choose to clone or not, is preserving the DNA of your pet through our simple Genetic Preservation service. A Veterinarian would take a very small skin punch biopsy from the abdomen or inner leg area of your dog or cat, typically while he’s under local anesthesia. General anesthesia is another option, but it’s up to the discretion of the veterinarian.
On our end, we culture a cell line from the skin sample and cryopreserve millions of cells. These cells hold 100% of the DNA make-up for your pet.
CDA: Do you have any success stories you’d like to share with our readers?
LA: ViaGen Pets has many client’s stories that we love to share. You can read client testimonials here https://viagenpets.com/our-pet-client-stories/ or watch a video testimonial here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i00DZ-BRXA
CDA: Where can our readers go for additional information?
LA: To learn more about preserving the DNA of your pet and maybe cloning them someday please visit our website at https://viagenpets.com/. To speak directly with a member of our Client Service Team, you can call us at 888-876-6104.
AUTHOR PROFILE
Emily Watson is a staff writer for Animal Wellness Magazine and Canadian Dogs Annual. She is a certified yoga and medical Qi Gong instructor and has been writing — creatively and otherwise — for ten years. Off the mat and away from the keyboard, Emily can be found hiking, camping and travelling with her wife and fur babies.
