A Boca Raton couple got a new dog, and it's just like their old dog. Not just the same breed and gender, but the same DNA.Nina and Edgar Otto picked up their cloned yellow lab puppy at the Miami International Airport Monday night. Lancelot Encore was cloned from the DNA of the Ottos' late dog Lancelot, which died of cancer in January 2008. Guessing that pet cloning would one day be possible, the Ottos had DNA samples of their dog frozen five years ago.
The Ottos paid $155,000 in a San Francisco biotech firm's dog-cloning auction last July.
BioArts International created Lancelot Encore in South Korea, where he was born 10 weeks ago. The Ottos say he's the first single-birth, commercially cloned puppy in the United States.
BioArts International announced today that they have delivered the world’s first commercially cloned dog, a 10-week old Labrador named Lancey, to Florida residents Edgar and Nina Otto.
Boca Raton, FL (Vocus) January 28, 2009 -- BioArts International announced today that they have delivered the world's first commercially cloned dog, a 10-week old Labrador named Lancey, to Florida residents Edgar and Nina Otto.
"We can't believe this day is finally here," said Nina Otto, "We are so happy to have little Lancey in our family. His predecessor was a very special dog. We are thrilled beyond words!"
Lancey was hand delivered to the Ottos on Monday, January 26th by BioArts Chairman Lou Hawthorne. "This is a very special milestone for our company – and great fun for me too," said Hawthorne, who delivered Lancey personally.
The Ottos were one of five families to bid and win an auction held by BioArts International in July for a chance to clone their family dog. Lancey's genetic donor, Sir Lancelot, died in January, 2008, and the Ottos had his DNA stored. By October, samples from the original dog were on their way to the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation in Seoul, South Korea, which provides cloning services to BioArts.
Lancey was born on November 18, 2008, and brought to the U.S. on January 25, 2009 after being weaned from his surrogate mother.
The Ottos, longtime residents of Boca Raton, have had many beloved dogs over the years, but Lancey's genetic donor was unique. "Sir Lancelot was the most human of any dog we’ve ever had," said Otto. "He was a prince among dogs."
Said Hawthorne, "One minute with Lancey and you know he's special. He's both extremely aware and very sweet. The Ottos are the first of six current clients to receive their clone. The next 6 months will be very exciting both for our clients and our staff."
Additional information about the Best Friends Again program and dog cloning is available at www.bestfriendsagain.com. More information about BioArts is available at www.bioarts.com.
BioArts International is a biotech company focused on unique, untapped markets in the global companion animal, stem cell and human genomics industries. The Best Friends Again program is a collaboration between BioArts and the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation in South Korea, home to the best and most experienced dog cloning team in the world.
BioArts has been granted the sole, worldwide license for the cloning of dogs, cats and endangered species. The license was granted by Start Licensing, Inc. and applies to the somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) cloning patents developed at the Roslin Institute for the cloning of Dolly the sheep.
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