The Cost and Ethics Behind Tom Brady Cloning His Dog
When Tom Brady revealed that his dog Junie was cloned from his late pit bull mix, Lua, the story quickly caught public attention. While the idea of cloning a beloved pet may sound like a scientific miracle, it also raises serious ethical and animal welfare concerns.
This article takes a closer look at how dog cloning works, why it’s controversial, and what experts say about the moral implications of recreating a pet through science.
How Dog Cloning Works
Dog cloning is done through a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Scientists take the nucleus from a cell of the original dog—often collected from a small skin or blood sample—and insert it into an egg cell that has had its nucleus removed. The new egg is then stimulated to develop into an embryo and implanted into a surrogate mother dog.
The puppy that is born is a genetic twin of the original dog. However, genetics are only part of what makes an animal who they are. Personality, temperament, and learned behaviors are shaped by experience and environment, meaning the cloned dog will not be identical in behavior or emotional connection.
The first cloned dog, named Snuppy, was created in 2005 by researchers in South Korea. Since then, companies like Viagen Pets and Equine have offered commercial pet cloning services, charging around $50,000 to clone a dog and $85,000 for a horse.
Tom Brady’s Cloned Dog, Junie
Tom Brady announced in November 2025 that his current dog, Junie, is a clone of Lua, his family’s late pit bull mix who died in 2023. The cloning was done by Colossal Biosciences, a Texas-based biotechnology company Brady has invested in.
According to Brady, Colossal used a non-invasive method to collect a blood sample from Lua before her death. “Colossal gave my family a second chance with a clone of our beloved dog,” he said in a statement. “I’m excited about how this technology can help both families losing pets and endangered species.”
Brady isn’t the first celebrity to clone a pet. Barbra Streisand and Paris Hilton have both worked with Viagen to clone their dogs. But his involvement—as both a client and investor—has reignited public debate about the ethics of cloning companion animals.
The Ethical Debate
Use of Surrogate Dogs
Animal welfare organizations have long criticized cloning practices for their reliance on multiple dogs used as egg donors and surrogates. These dogs often live in laboratory conditions and undergo numerous medical procedures.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has reported that cloned animals have higher risks of pregnancy complications, premature death, and developmental abnormalities than naturally bred animals.
Emotional Implications
Ethically, many experts question whether cloning truly serves the emotional needs of grieving owners. While the cloned dog may look identical, it is not the same individual. Behaviorists stress that cloning can’t recreate the same memories, bond, or personality that made the original pet unique.
Some ethicists also argue that cloning can complicate the grieving process, offering the illusion of bringing back a pet rather than helping owners heal and move forward.
Animal Overpopulation
Another key criticism centers on animal overpopulation. With millions of dogs waiting in shelters each year, spending tens of thousands of dollars to reproduce one pet raises questions about priorities in animal welfare.
Groups like PETA have called pet cloning “an unethical use of science” and encourage people to adopt or foster homeless animals instead.
Scientific Potential and Conservation Efforts
Despite the controversy, cloning technology does have legitimate scientific uses. Colossal Biosciences has been developing cloning methods to aid de-extinction and conservation projects, including efforts to revive the woolly mammoth, the dodo bird, and other endangered species.
Some researchers believe cloning could help preserve genetic diversity in endangered populations, such as black-footed ferrets or Przewalski’s horses. However, conservation cloning and pet cloning serve very different purposes—one aims to preserve biodiversity, while the other focuses on personal emotional loss.
The Cost of Cloning
Viagen’s current pricing places dog cloning at approximately $50,000, with the cost split into two payments. The company also offers a genetic preservation service for $1,600, allowing pet owners to store DNA samples for potential future cloning.
By comparison, adopting a dog from a shelter typically costs between $50 and $400, and adoption fees usually include vaccinations, spay/neuter procedures, and microchipping.
The Bottom Line
Tom Brady’s decision to clone his late dog has reignited a complicated conversation about science, ethics, and grief. While cloning offers the promise of a “second chance,” it also raises difficult questions about the treatment of animals involved, the moral cost of reproducing a pet, and what it means to love and lose responsibly.
Cloning may create a dog with identical DNA, but it cannot recreate the same relationship, memories, or individuality that made the original pet irreplaceable. For many animal advocates, the greater act of love lies not in cloning the one we lost, but in giving another homeless dog a chance to be loved in their place.
Sources:
Colossal Biosciences press release (Nov. 2025)
Viagen Pets and Equine official website
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) on animal cloning
PETA: “The Truth About Pet Cloning”
NBC News and PEOPLE interviews with Ben Lamm, CEO of Colossal Biosciences
