US businessman plans pet-cloning facility

The venture is based on a 2.3 million dollar gift from a couple who want to clone their 12-year-old border collie, Missy.

Though the scheme sounds like a science fiction prank, the paper says that the research team includes Mark Westhusin, who cloned a cow in September, and Duane Kraemer, a biologist who is saving cells from endangered species so he can one day clone them back into existence, should they become extinct.

The idea is to sell people kits that can be taken to their veterinarian who would then scrape a few of the animal8217;s cells from the abdomen or mouth in order to provide the DNA for cloning.

The kits would cost less than 1,000 dollars, while storing the DNA would cost 50 to 100 dollars a year.

The project was originally due to open in November but has been pushed back due to technical difficulties, the paper said, and is now set to open in the next few weeks.

According to the report, cloning Missy has proven trickier than cloning other animals such as sheep or cows because dogs have unusual reproductive cycles.

In many other mammals, including humans, the eggs of adult females are mature and ready for reproduction. But the eggs of female dogs mature just before the dog goes into heat every six months or so, causing a shortage of dog eggs, the paper said.