Maryland’s First Cloned Chihuahuas Named After Superheroes

 

When the average person thinks of a superhero, they may think of Spiderman, Superman, or Batman. These are pop culture’s most iconic superheroes that have graced our television screens for years.

 

However, another group of superheroes are less famous but can still boast their sensational skills. The cloned chihuahuas are genetically identical to the dog, named Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. “Batman.”

 

Because Meesha Kauffman is so in love with her long-haired chihuahua, she spent $50,000 to have him cloned by a Texas animal-cloning firm. Kauffman said she expected one or two puppies. As soon as she learned that five pups had been born, she realized she had hit the jackpot.

 

 

Four went to live with Bruce and his owner, and one went to a friend in Baltimore. The cloned puppies have been given superhero names: Clark Kent (Superman), Peter Parker (Spiderman), Wade Wilson (Deadpool), and Tony Stark (Ironman).

 

Wade Wilson

 

Tony Stark

 

Clark Kent

 

Peter Parker

 

An animal cloning company? Yes! According to client service manager Melain Rodriguez, ViaGen is the only company in the US that clones pets and livestock. The chihuahua puppies are the first cloned dogs in Maryland for the company. “The demand is very high,” she said, “and it’s growing.”

 

While ViaGen can ensure a genetically identical clone, Rodriguez said personality traits are a complex mix of nature and nurture that cannot be determined. “Breeders have known for a long time that temperament is a heritable trait,” she said. “Environmental factors do play a role…”

 

To this day, the method is fraught with ethical dilemmas, including the treatment of animals and the possibility of creating human clones. According to animal rights groups, cloning is unnecessary because many animals are available for adoption.

 

As Kauffman put it in an email, she decided to clone Bruce Wayne because she wanted another version of him by her side.

 

From Kauffman’s perspective, each of her puppies has its personality quirk: Wade Wilson is a furious puppy, while Clark Kent is a jealous sibling. Tony Stark is more laid-back, and Peter Parker is sweet.

 

They’re not exact replicas of Bruce Wayne, but they’re more similar to him than dissimilar. “They’re always doing something that makes me stop and say: ‘Oh my God, that’s exactly what Bruce would have done,” Kauffman said.

 

Check out the story here about the cloning process…