With the advanced state of technology in which we now live it is no longer shocking that we can take a family pet and reproduce an exact genetic copy. Ever since the successful cloning of Dolly the ewe in 1996, the practice of cloning animals has become less of an issue. That is until recently when headlines reported a woman having her beloved pet dog cloned. The dog was a pitbull terrier — which certainly helped put the spotlight on the case — that had passed away. The woman simply loved her dog so much that she wanted to reproduce him. Cloning animals is only just beginning to be available commercially so that pet owners with the desire and the means can have a copy, or two, made of their beloved pet. It is not a cheap endeavor by any means. According to some reports the cost can range between $50,000 and $150,000. In other words, we are at the genesis of cloning pets for money. These days the question is no longer, “Can we do it?” Instead the question has become, “Should we do it?"

Certainly we could find people to argue the merits of both sides of the argument. The benefits would include things such as medical research for animals and humans, the ability for grieving owners to lessen the grief from a lost pet by reproducing it, and the ability to duplicate valuable animals -- highly successful service and therapy dogs for example. I imagine arguments against it would mention things such as the fact that this is just one step closer to human cloning; it produces more animals, and we are currently battling a large animal overpopulation problem. The thinking that we can reproduce life, at our whim, leads to the devaluation of life itself. 

 I am confident that I need a more in-depth understanding of the processes and outcomes before I could take a stand on either side of the issue. However, it is very clear to me that the last thing we need to do is create more animals with such a large surplus of high-quality animals already in need of good homes throughout the world. If I convince every person planning on obtaining a pet to stop by their local animal shelter first, before going anywhere else, I believe that we could make a huge dent in the overpopulation problem. Additionally, if I could persuade all pet owners to spay/neuter their pet, unless they are responsible and conscientious breeders, then I am certain we could wipe out pet overpopulation and greatly reduce the enormous amount of unwanted and unclaimed pets that are put to death every year.

 On the other hand, the priceless knowledge we could obtain through the cloning process could be of great medical value and could be used to help alleviate human suffering throughout the world. I will always be an advocate for reducing human suffering.

Mahatma Gandhi stated that there were seven traits, which when found among the human race would destroy it. Three of them -- "science without humanity," "knowledge without character," and "commerce without morality" -- are unquestionably among us when we pursue cloning of animals strictly for profit, with no thought of the consequences.

It is my opinion that we should pursue advances in technology with great vigor but only as a parallel to our advances in wisdom. Pursuing medical/technological advances at the expense of ethics will certainly contribute to the downfall of humanity.