When it comes to losing a dog, it is extremely hard for owners to let go. Some people, including Barbra Streisand, refuse to let go.
The superstar recently disclosed in a Variety article that her two dogs, Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett, were cloned from her 14-year-old Coton du Tulear dog who passed away in 2017.
She revealed before her dog, named Samantha, died she had cells taken from her stomach and mouth.
Image Credit: Instagram
While the article didn’t get into the details about the process, cloning a dog involves taking a donor egg, stripping the nucleus (which has the genetic information), injecting the dog’s DNA into the egg and implanting the egg. South Korea is known for its cloning capabilities, with lab Sooam being a well-known dog-cloning company. It was the first company to successfully clone a dog in 2005. A labrador retriever served as the surrogate and delivered a Afghan hound named Snuppy.
A 2015 article in NPR said it had cloned about 600 dogs. The company, and other cloning facilities, charge a hefty price tag for the procedure. (It’s been reported to cost anywhere from $50,000 – $100,000.)
Related: Beloved Dog Dies, Couple Forks Over $100,000 to Bring Him Back
It is a controversial procedure as us humans are messing with nature for our own wants and desires – and often the dog we so cared about doesn’t end up being the same in the new incarnation.
“They have different personalities,” Streisand says about her two dogs. “I’m waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her [Samantha’s] brown eyes and seriousness.”
The pups were named Miss Violet and Miss Scarlet after Streisand revealed she dressed them in purple and red outfits to tell them apart. They, along with a third dog, named Miss Fancy, a distant relative of Samantha, make appearances in Streisand’s Instagram feed.
