Owner Requests Cloning from Deceased Pet Dog Company
Returns with Two Cloned Dogs... "Overcoming Pet Loss"
"I Understand" vs "Uncomfortable" Netizens Debate
A YouTuber who sent their pet dog across the rainbow bridge has attracted attention by bringing home a cloned puppy one year after the dog's passing. On the 1st, the YouTube channel ‘Samoyed Tiko’ announced the news of cloning their deceased pet dog through a video titled ‘Our Dog Has Returned.’ The owner entrusted the dog's DNA to an animal cloning company and requested the cloning.
"The Loss After My Pet Left... Overcame It with a Cloned Dog"
With 200,000 subscribers, this channel was widely loved for videos showing daily life with the dog ‘Tiko.’ However, after a video in November 2022 announced that ‘Tiko’ had passed away due to an unexpected accident, there was no news for over a year.
Through this video, the owner, known as ‘Tiko Unnie,’ revealed, "I had decided that if Tiko ever left in the distant future, I would definitely clone him, but the unexpected farewell came sooner than I thought. It was painful even to stay at home, so I traveled abroad a lot, and during that time, the cloning of Tiko that I requested was gradually progressing."
She added, “After a long time, I finally met Tiko again. Tiko was born healthy as two puppies and came to me at three months old, growing up well,” and said, “Pet cloning is still very unfamiliar in Korea, but I hope that through me, someone will learn about cloning and another person will be able to overcome ‘pet loss’ (the grief after a pet’s death).”
Interest in Cloning Company... Many Respond ‘Uncomfortable’
After this video was posted, the animal cloning company’s website received excessive traffic and attracted significant attention. The company’s homepage features a promotional phrase stating, “We believe that differences in speed should not lead to grief. Therefore, we strive to overcome differences in speed.”
Among netizens, debates continue over animal cloning. Some responded, “As a fellow pet owner, I understand and support this,” but many expressed opinions like, “Can a cloned dog really be called Tiko?” Comments such as “I worry that death will be overcome by cloning in the future,” “The expression that Tiko has returned is uncomfortable,” and “A cloned dog is clearly a separate life” also appeared.
However, the owner explained, “I do not equate cloned Tiko with the original Tiko. The name Tiko is a name I truly cherish and love, so I simply continued to use it. Even now, when I wake up in the morning, I greet the urn with Tiko’s ashes first.”
China Commercializes Cloned Dogs... ‘Cloning for 50 Million Won’ Sparks Attention
Similar cases have occurred overseas. In 2022, a post on Chinese social media attracted attention with the headline ‘Successful Cloning of a Dead Pet Dog After Investing 250,000 Yuan.’ According to the post, a woman who lost her dog ‘Lala’ and suffered from pet loss syndrome invested 250,000 yuan (approximately 50 million won at the time) to clone her deceased dog and embraced the cloned dog after about a year.
In China, after the birth of the first somatic cell cloned dog ‘Longlong’ in May 2017, commercialization of pet cloning was approved in August of the same year.
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