In Russia, a piece of ear was taken from a rare Yakutian Laika dog to provide the biomaterial needed to clone her. Yakutian Laika dogs have been declining in numbers so cloning is being used to save the breed. The cloning happened at a dog cloning lab in South Korea, Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, yet when the two month old puppy and six year old biomaterial donor “Mom” met for the first time, a video of their encounter shows that they behaved like they knew each other. Perhaps cloning is like a twin relationship where you have a special genetic connection?
The South Korean lab clones dogs not just to help save breeds from becoming extinct, but also clones dogs for a big price tag and for military and police dogs.