When a pet passes away, the emptiness it leaves behind is beyond words. Only those who have suffered it know the deep pain felt after the departure of your best friend. It is at this very moment that perhaps the viable option – increasingly common – of opting for cloning arises. All in order to have your faithful and inseparable companion by your side again. Thanks to scientific advances, it is now possible to have a puppy that is practically identical to your pet, with a 99.99% genetic match. This means that facial features, skeletal structure, body size, breed characteristics, inherent intelligence, innate personality and gender, all determined by genes, are identical. In this article, we will tell you how Ovoclone makes cloning a reality and how you should proceed if your pet has died and you wish to clone it.
What should I do if my pet has died?
If your pet dies and you wish to clone your best and loyal friend, the first step to take is to contact the professionals at Ovoclone for advice on what to do at any given moment. However, the ideal is to keep the body of the animal (or the sample) at refrigerator temperature, i.e. between 2ºC and 8ºC. But NEVER freeze, as it will be practically impossible to clone once the cells are frozen.
The most effective thing to do, therefore, would be to ask your vet to keep the body in the fridge and talk to the Ovoclone team as soon as possible.
Which part of the body do I need to keep?
The Ovoclone specialists will need, in case of death, samples from the ear, additionally neck, buttock near the tail, and hairs with roots. In case of death, the chances of success decrease with each passing hour, so keep samples from this area as clean as possible in the refrigerator. Ovoclone specialists will give you further instructions for maintenance and shipping.
In all cases, we request hair from the original animal, but hair can NOT be used to obtain the cell line from the animal, as the cells we need are live, undamaged epithelial tissue cells.
How long after death can cloning take place?
At most, it can take 4-5 days for samples from the animal’s body to reach the laboratory. Once this interval has passed, the chances of obtaining viable cells for cloning are practically nil. Therefore, time is limited and each hour will determine whether or not the cloning of the pet will be viable or not.
It is for this reason that Ovoclone recommends the preservation of the animal’s cell line while the animal is still alive. In this way, the client can choose when to proceed with the cloning process without the pressure of deciding in less than 5 days.
What happens if more than 5 days have passed?
In the event that the animal sample arrives at the Ovoclone laboratory after day 5 post-mortem, the chances of obtaining cells for cloning are very low.
For this reason, we do not accept samples more than 5 days post mortem, as the chances of obtaining viable cells are practically nil. If you are within the limit of days, please contact our team to evaluate your case.
Every minute after the pet’s death is decisive for the survival of the cells. Acting and deciding quickly is crucial.
How long does the cloning process take?
Once the sample arrives at Ovoclone’s animal laboratory, obtaining your pet’s genetic line is relatively quick. In about a week we will know if there is cell growth.
As for cloning, it is faster than in other species such as horses or camels, as the gestation times of the recipient mothers are shorter. However, from the time you start until you can take your puppy home can take, on average, between 8-10 months, so we encourage you to start the process early to keep the wait short. In addition, we offer you the guarantee of the birth of at least one live and healthy puppy in a maximum of two years, that is our commitment.
After this obligatory gestation and delivery time (birth of the clone), Ovoclone performs neonatal veterinary check-ups to check the health of the clone, as well as a genetic test to confirm the identity of the new animal.
To follow the natural process, we will have to wait until the newborn is weaned. In addition, we will give you your puppy with its first vaccinations and deworming so that you can enjoy it from the first day with complete peace of mind.
It should be noted that Ovoclone offers the latest technology in cloning processes and guarantees the birth of at least one live and healthy clone within a maximum of two years; if this is not the case, Ovoclone undertakes to refund the full amount.
