Nation

Best Friends Again

Eternal question: who can put a price on the love between a man and his dog? Answer: greedy scientists. See what it'll cost to get Rover 2.0, at Best Friends Again.

A project of biotech firm BioArts International (holder of the world's sole license to clone dogs, cats, and endangered species), BFA's offering six people the chance to have their beloved doggie duplicated, using tech pioneered on genetic engineering's intrepid test subject, Michael Keaton. The firm's already brandished their chops with three clones of a husky named Missy, and in July, they'll be auctioning five slots to nab an exact genetic replica of your canine; just register, then get to bidding in a 5-day run of e-auctions that'll kick off at $100,000/clone -- pretty good, when you realize Wild Wild West cost $175mil, and still won't bring you your slippers. If you win, just send in a sample of your (living) dog's DNA, and three months to a year later, you'll have another, identical little buddy dropping identical poop for you to pick up.

In addition to the auctions, BFA's also running the Golden Clone Giveaway, with one lucky owner nabbing a gratis future-mutt. Winners'll be decided by a 500-word pooch paean, as well as a photo -- because you can't put a price on curbing the proliferation of butt-ugly dogs.

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