A young woman has revealed she borrowed over 28,000 GBP of her parents’ money to clone her dead pet dog which she had bought while studying in the UK.
The incident comes just one week after a Chinese company announced the country’s first cloned cat.
Hui Hui, the 24-year-old woman from Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province in East China, said her parents – both doctors – were “shocked” by her decision – but she plans to pay them back.
The young woman turned to Beijing pet-cloning company Sinogene after her border collie ‘Xiaodi’ – bought in Scotland in the summer of 2013 – died of illness in April.
Last month, Sinogene announced that China’s first cloned cat, Garlic, was born on 21st July.
Its owner, Huang Yu, 24, paid for the procedure after his original pet died and it left him heartbroken.
Sinogene charges 250,000 RMB (28,600 GBP) to clone a cat but 380,000 RMB (43,500 GBP) to create a cloned dog.
The company’s chief executive, Mi Jidong, had previously explained that this is because the window for harvesting a dog’s eggs is very small.
Hui Hui, who works at a private hospital in Hangzhou, told local media her doctor parents were “shocked” when she raised the prospect of clonging her border collie.
She said: “I’m not very rich and am usually very frugal.
“I don’t buy luxury items and always shop for discounted clothes. My phone and laptop are the most expensive things I own.
“When my dog, Xiaodi, died, we didn’t have any sort of grand ceremony. We spent around 2,000 RMB (230 GBP) for a funeral.
“My husband and I had about 130,000 RMB (14,870 GBP) in savings, so I borrowed 250,000 RMB (28,600 GBP) from my parents.
“I’ll spend the next four years paying them back – 6,000 RMB (685 GB) per month.
“I even gave them a written agreement. Father said: ‘That’s not necessary. Our money is your money,’ but I still felt this was something I should do myself.”
Sinogene Vice-President Zhao Jianping revealed: “She had a border collie which died of illness.
“She raised it from a puppy while overseas and then brought it back to China.
“Our lab tests show that [the clone’s] surrogate mother is already pregnant.
“But [the puppy] hasn’t been born yet. That’ll take another 20 days or so.”
Sinogene first made headlines in May 2017 when it revealed China’s first cloned dog, a beagle named Long Long.
Since then, the company has cloned more than 40 animals.
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Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
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