Dead pet's ear tissue to create first commercial dog cloning.  This week a South Korean firm accepted $US150,000 to clone a bull terrier called "Booger" which saved its owner's life.

After announcing the opening of a new clinic for cell therapeutics and animal cloning last month, Seoul National University's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) joined with company RNL Bio and accepted it's first order for pet dog cloning. RNL is a biotechnology company headquartered in Seoul focused on stem cell therapeutics and life sciences technologies.

Professor Hwa-Young Yoon, the director of VMTH, said, "The opening of our new clinic is a small step in the movement towards the implementation of stem cell medicine for animals. We are very pleased that our pets will benefit from our cutting edge stem cell technology."

"We have plans to enters animal health care market in developed countries like the US, Europe and Japan as well as such emerging market as Dubai", added Dr. Jeong Chan Ra, President and CEO of RNL.

VMTH opened in 1997 and the world's first cloned dog, Snuppy, was born in 2005.

According to Ian Johnston of news.scotman.com, the "first commission has come from a woman in the United States who wants scientists to clone her pet, called Booger."

"RNL's chief executive, said he expected up to 500 orders within a few years from rich pet owners.

He said: "We have been focusing on cloning specialised dogs, such as narcotic-detection dogs.  But we won't refuse orders for pet dogs.  There are many people who want to clone their pet dogs.

"I believe we can greatly lower the cost of cloning if we can double the yield (of fertilised eggs)." he said.

"Mr Ra said that Booger's owner, Bernann McKinney, had preserved a piece of the animal's ear tissue for more than a year in a US laboratory."

Mr Johnston stated, " Professor Susan Rhind, director of veterinary teaching at Edinburgh University's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, said she would advise pet owners not to consider cloning their animals.

"All sorts of abnormalities can occur and you are not going to get the same animal with the same temperament and the same features," she said.

"It's certainly not the same thing - not an identical twin or a non-identical twin.

"I'm sympathetic with people who psychologically are so attached to their pets, but I wouldn't say that cloning is the solution."

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