Consider adopting a shelter pet instead

Sadly, while thousands of cats and dogs are killed in shelters around the country every day because there aren't enough homes to go around, recent advances in the cloning of pets will exacerbate pet overpopulation ("Scientists copy a cat, but miss a few marks," The Herald, Feb. 15).
Having adopted 100,000 cats and dogs to Seattle-area families since 1967, PAWS recognizes and understands the bond that can exist between humans and their cats, dogs and other companion animals. However, animals have unique personalities just like humans and develop behaviors and idiosyncrasies based on their circumstances and environment. These are aspects of an individual that cannot be replicated in a laboratory.
Rather than cloning pets as a way to sustain that bond, people should channel their love towards the millions of animals that populate animal shelters in the U.S. and consider adoption. Every year, between 8 and 12 million animals enter U.S. shelters; some 4 to 6 million of these animals are euthanized because there are no homes for them. Cloning cats and dogs will only perpetuate the pet overpopulation crisis in the U.S. and counteract spay/neuter programs, which try to nip the overpopulation problem in the bud.