The Risks To Owners

The potential for consumer fraud is also an issue. Clones tend to be ordered by people who are grieving loss of a much-loved pet and who may have unrealistically high expectations of their clones. Although they share identical genetic profiles, clones do not always resemble originals because coat patterns are not strictly genetically determined. Personalities and behavior patterns are even less predictable on basis of genetics alone. All personalities are products of some basic genetics, and environment in which animal is raised and, since a particular environment can never be perfectly recreated (there's always a random element) personalities will, most likely, be different as well in any clone. "Consumers are likely under impression that a clone is a carbon copy. We believe they are being misled," AAVS policy analyst Crystal Miller-Spiegel said.

David Magnus, director of Stanford University's Center for Biomedical Ethics, spoke more bluntly. "People are not getting what they think they're getting," Magnus said. "This is a $50,000 rip-off."

There is certainly a war of words beginning between cloning businesses and AAVS. It's likely to become a more contentious issue as there's potentially a lot of money to be made (at $50,000 per kitten) and companies may see AAVS's concerns as hurting those potential profits. It's going to be a case of "Watch This Space".

Conclusion

Personally, however, cloning is one option I'm not in favor of but it might be for you if you're looking at replacing a pet that's died. As I mentioned above, clone may look identical to your lost companion but personality will likely be different. That's not to say personality will be better or worse, just different. Look at it this way - how many sets of identical twins have same personalities despite having same genetic make-up and being raised in same environment? There are always random factors involved. Every personality is unique and passes by this way only once.

If you find yourself in a position where you would consider cloning to be an option that will help you cope with death of your cat, you should do some background reading first. The National Geographic have a news item on pet cloning and some people's reaction to it.

• Some breeds, like Weimaraners and Boxers, are predisposed to cancer. Therefore, they must have extra protection from sunburns and UV rays to avoid a kind of skin cancer.

How you can protect your pets:

Think about precautions that you take to prevent yourself from sunburn and UV exposure. You stay out of sun at peak hours like noon to 3PM, use sunblock and cover up, don’t you? Those same suggestions can work for your dog.

Sunburn prevention tips especially for dogs:

• Be sure that your dog is inside house or in a shaded area during sun’s peak hours, even on overcast days.

• Apply sunblock to bridge of dog’s nose, ear tips and other small, sensitive areas whenever dog is outside for more than a few minutes.

• Consider some sort of covering for your dog. Some veterinarians say that most important and effective protection is a type of bodysuit for dogs, which is designed to block ultraviolet rays and prevent sunburn.

In end, it's still good dog health advice to let your dog play outdoors. But spare your “best friend” pain of sunburn and its consequences.