Well, not everyone is worried about the economy or where their next paycheck is coming from. A couple in Boca Raton, Fla., had an extra $155,000 to clone their dog. Geez.
Don't get me wrong. I love dogs. I have had dogs all my life. I have two living in my house now, although they are technically my son's dogs. I have had several dogs that I loved like family. When they died I was very sad. I was also very sad when family members and friends died. But I had no desire to clone them.
Edgar and Nina Otto of Boca Raton loved their yellow Labrador. They loved him so much that they decided to freeze his DNA before he died of cancer. How sweet.
And here's the kicker. They weren't the only people willing to spend thousands of dollars to resurrect their dog. They were merely one of five families to bid to win an auction by BioArts for the cloning procedure. There are four other families with that kind of expendable income.
The cloning was done in South Korea and the 10-week old puppy, Lancey, was delivered to the Ottos this week. Question: How can they tell it is the clone of their old dog, except that the folks in South Korea say so? In fact, how can anyone tell that any dog could be a clone? IT'S A YELLOW LAB!!! They all look alike.
Why didn't the Ottos just buy a new lab? Or better yet, why didn't they get one from a Lab rescue group or even the city pound? They could have named it Sir Lancelot just like their deceased dog. Who would have known the difference?
They could have donated that $155,000 to the local shelter or a rescue organization or even to a shelter for homeless humans. Imagine how much good that money could have done.
I hope the cloned Lancelot lives a long and happy life. He likely will, given the devotion of his owners.
I don't begrudge people for having a lot of money. Most people earned it. How they spend it is not my business. But this boggles the mind.
Let them eat cake, I suppose.
