As your pet ages you know that one day the inevitable will happen, but what if you could keep them around a little longer?
And not just their memory or their spirit…
After Bryan and Ashley Bullerdick of North Carolina learned Barbra Streisand cloned her dog, they started researching the idea for their 19-year-old cat Cinnabun.
Cinnabun came into the Bullerdicks’ lives when they were newlyweds. The couple rescued her when she was just nine months old.
“She just pulled at my heart-strings since the day I got her,” Ashley told WCNC. “That’s a special time: Happy, in love, and she just added to all of that.”
“I didn’t know it was possible until I read the article,” Bryan told SWNS, according to the New York Post.
At first his wife was uncertain about proceeding with the unusual procedure, but eventually they agreed to move forward. In August 2018 Bryan purchased a $1,600 DNA kit from ViaGen Pets, the same company Barbra used.
The couple kept the kit in the freezer for months.
“Then we just thought we had to do it,” Ashley said. “Cinnabun was so dear to us. She had unique markings that no other cat would have.”
The couple sent the necessary samples to the cloning company in September 2018 and one month later Cinnabun died.
“I gave her the best life I could for almost 19 years and I knew that when she died, I would get her again in the clone,” Ashley told SWNS. “It gave me so much comfort to know that I would see her again with the new Cinnabun.”
On February 4, Cinnabun’s clone was born. The clone, which Ashley and Bryan originally wanted to name Bun Bun, but have since settled on Cinnabun, arrived to her new home a few weeks later.
The couple claim the new Cinnabun, which cost them $25,000, looks and acts like the original.
“Yes! It’s spot on,” Ashley said.
The sweet kitten even sleeps on the same pillow that her predecessor slept on – a spot that no other cat sleeps.
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“Yes, it is a lot of money,” Bryan said. “But people choose different things on what to spend money on. People buy nice boats on Lake Norman here, or people will buy nice cars or vacations. Vacation is a memory that will last a week, this is part of the family that can hopefully be with us for 19 years.”
According to SWNS, the cost of cloning a cat has increased since the Bullerdicks cloned Cinnabun. It now costs $35,000.
While the couple is unsure if they will ever repeat the process, they’re now enjoying their life with their cats and dog.
Would you clone your pet if you knew you were going to get an exact match?
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