A recent story in the International Herald-Tribune notes that Bernann McKinney, the first commercial dog cloning client, is the same woman who, in the 1970’s jumped bail after kidnapping a Mormon missionary and making him her sex slave. The cloning company, RNL Bio, has no problem with this, and does not plan to do any background checks on future clients.
Category Archives: Dog News
NYC dog licenses now online
I found this a bit surprising. City officials estimate that only about 20% of the city’s estimated 500,000 dogs are licensed – even though it’s required by law. In an effort to improve compliance, dog guardians are now able to renew their licenses online.
Shooting dogs in Pennsylvania
How could they have possibly thought this was a good solution? Two kennel owners in Maxatawny Township, PA were inspected by the dog warden, and were cited for a number of things, including excessive flea and fly bites on 39 of their dogs. Rather than seek treatment or flea-dip the dogs, they SHOT them!
“Just a dog” says police officer
One of our readers sent me this clipping from the San Marcos Register.
Seems a young couple was rushing their dog to the emergency vet when they were stopped for a traffic ticket. When they pointed out that their dog was having trouble breathing, the officer mocked them, saying, “It’s just a dog. You can get another one.” And proceeded to take nearly 20 minutes to write the ticket.
Puppies, puppies, everywhere
This was placed as a comment on the blog, but I wanted to make sure everyone sees it, so I am re-posting. Thanks to Joann C for letting us know about this.
Today (8/25) there was a raid in Parkersburg WVa on a “puppy mill”. The Humane society is trying to find homes for over 1000 puppies & breeder dogs. For info call 304-422-5541
The Loyalty of Man’s Best Friend
From Greeley, Colorado: We all know dogs are man’s best friend, but have you ever wondered just how far your dog’s loyalty goes? Jake Baysinger, unfortunately, will never know, but his family sure will. Cash, a 3-year old German Shepherd stayed by Baysinger’s body for 6 weeks after the man committed suicide, guarding it from coyote attacks.
Dog Cruelty Up in UK?
The BBC is reporting a 34% increase in dog cruelty, but says a new law enacted in 2007 may be the reason. Actual cases of animal cruelty may not be increasing, but the law laid out minimum requirements for the care of a pet, taking the guesswork out of the equation.
“Are You My Mother?” said the tiger to the dog
Do you remember the children’s book called, “Are You My Mother?” The Safari Zoological Park in Caney, Kansas, is putting a new spin on this theme. White tiger cubs, abandoned by their natural mother, are being nursed by Isabella the dog.
Continue reading “Are You My Mother?” said the tiger to the dog
Dog Cloning Explained
How much would you pay for an exact replica (at least physically) of your beloved pet? RNL Bio of Seoul, South Korea hopes to clone dogs commercially at a fee of $150,000 each. It’s first commercial clones, from a Pit Bull named Booger, were born recently, to the delight of Bernann McKinney.
The original Booger saved McKinney from an attack by another dog, then became an assistance dog during McKinney’s recovery. This remarkable dog passed in 2006, but McKinney now has five exact dupicates, thanks to the cloning process developed by Lee Byeong-Chun.
Here’s how it works: skin cells from the original dog provide the DNA, which is combined into an egg cell from another dog. Before combining, the nucleus of the egg is removed to eliminate the donor’s DNA from “contaminating” the clone. The cell begins to divide in a petri dish, then is implanted into a surrogate mother to be carried for about two months until they are born.
The company hopes to attract as many as 300 canine customers per year, and hopes to branch out into camel cloning for Middle Eastern customers.
McKinney, as the first commercial customer, got a real deal on the process, paying just $50,000. No word on how much of that went to the surrogate.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Death of a Police Dog
Have you seen the stories out of the tiny community of Mulberry, Florida? Officer Sara Movahedi, the department’s only K-9 officer, was switched to a new vehicle that was not yet fully outfitted with the protective equipment important to the dog’s well-being.