Oh my gosh - I agree with Joty.  Each dog has it's own personality.  I have had many dogs and still find each one unique and just as loveable as any other.  Why clone when you can help a critter in need?

The only thing I would clone is ME........

I'd never do that, even if I had the bucks.

Like Bob, I enjoy getting to know each pet as they join my family. Each one is always so different. And as much as we love our pets, we all know they have certain habits that would not be desired in a clone. I love my big boy Akita to death, but his snoring rattles the house. Literally! I'm surprised he doesn't throw off local earthquake detectors...

How many unwanted pets could benefit from the kind of money being spent on this procedure? It boggles the mind.

It is pure hubris - but then breeding is all about getting the same traits repeated, time after time after time, and dogs are the most intensly bred animals there are - you can't turn a wolf into a toy poodle with a family tree that branches!

Your heading is ironic - after all Lassie was played by multiple dogs, and were all bred to be indistinguisable from each other as the TV series went on year after year.  For that bit of intense breeding, Mr. Weatherwax is the one dog breeder the average person could name. 

When the notion of selective breeding was introduced in 18th century England, it met with considerable resistance from those who protested the incestous relations necessary to achieve its desired genetic isolation.  I think those folk had a better sense of the natural world than we do today.  Had their outlook carried the day, perhaps we wouldn't be faced with the repulsive spectacle of cloning today.

Yep, Lassie was played by several (male) dogs. I got to meet one who was Lassie in the late '60s. A friend's dad worked on the show.

I sure wished I could have cloned my late wife before she passed away. Cloning her would have saved me from this stinking mess I'm going through right now with my fraudulent future un-wife.

As far as dogs, just buy another one.

Oochild, I got my mom an akita several years ago. She is the best dog my mom has ever had, except for one thing....her SNORING.    We feel your pain.

I wouldn't clone anyone I loved, humane or dog.   No matter how exact in the appearance or in traits, it wouldn't be the one I once loved.   Plus, cloning is not exact...  future experiences will affect personality and behavior, you can't change life's way of molding someone.

LOL Sparks!

Yep, it's amazing how loud he is, but he's the noisiest dog I've ever owned anyway. And he rarely barks.

The sounds he makes getting up & laying down, rolling over, or just climbing the stairs are a combination of grunts, moans, sighs, & wheezes. He sneezes in your face as a greeting. His favorite toy is a big, blue ball with holes in it; when he carries it around he sounds like Darth Vader. When he lays down, a huge thud shudders across the floor.

He also has a drinking problem: his whole face goes in the bowl for a drink. There's no dainty sipping for him; the sounds echo from the laundry room as he slurps his way to the bottom of the bowl. His whole muzzle is covered in so much water when he's through, our female just licks his face to get her share of water.

:-)

I went to school with the daughter of Mr. Weatherwax's ranch foreman (in the 60's). I'll never forget how betrayed I felt when I found out all the Lassies were indeed Laddies.

I think I prefer my dogs' snoring to their flatulence - no silent but deadly for them!

My newest love, Nelle, I think may be part cat. She gave me quite the scare Monday. During the hottest part of the day, I couldn't find her. I called and called, she always comes running, but not this time. I was hoping she'd found a nice shady spot somewhere and it was just too hot to leave it. Any way, after about 3 hours, I had some items to put into the rear of my Santa Fe. I opened the hatch - and from over the back seat comes Nelle's head. I freaked, the windows had not been open even the tiniest bit. She was panting quite heavily, I took her indoors soaked her down and placed a big box fan on her. She drank gallons of water...and was fine. Mom however, needed a couple of glasses of wine. My little Chi probably would've died. Earlier in the day I had been taking stuff out of my car and had the side door open. Nelle must've jumped in - loves to go for rides - and I just pushed the door closed as I walked by, not looking in (the windows are heavily tinted from when we lived in Vegas). I don't know if she thought she was in trouble, but she never barked once, even when I was calling her from a few feet away from the car.

My husband and I spent the rest of the evening fussing over her - hmmm, maybe that was her plan all along...