Barbra Streisand loved her dog so much instead of just letting her be a memory in her mind, she decided to keep a part of it forever. In an interview, Streisand disclosed that she had her late dog Samantha cloned.
Streisand's dog Samantha was a Coton de Tulear.
Cloning Process
Like a situation straight out of Futurama, Barbra Streisand cloned her dog, Samantha. Streisand revealed the news in a candid interview with Variety. Two dogs were produced from the cloning of Samantha, Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett.
Cells were taken from the mouth and stomach of Samantha, to be able to produce Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett. Even though they're clones, Streisand says that they're not carbon copies of Samantha.
"They have different personalities," Streisand said to Variety. "I'm waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her brown eyes and her seriousness."
Samantha died in 2017, Streisand shared the news to Instagram in a tribute to the dog. She shared the last photo taken of the dog with a touching message. Streisand spent time praising the time she spent with Samantha.
"This is the last time my picture was taken with my beloved girl Samantha," Streisand said in her Instagram tribute to Samantha. "May she rest in peace. We cherish every moment of the 14 years we had with her. May 2003 - May 2017."
Streisand now keeps three dogs. Along with Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett, Streisand has a third Coton de Tulear named Miss Fanny. She originally received Miss Fanny while she was waiting for Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett to be ready.
Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett received their names by the way Streisand dressed them to tell them apart.
Cloning Pets
Given that Streisand is a very successful entertainer she has the means of cloning a pet. A quick Google search shows that the cloning pets market can be lucrative. A company by the name of ViaGen Pets offers this service.
There are different costs for cloning cats and dogs. Prices listed on the ViaGen website show that cloning a dog costs twice as much as cloning a cat. Cats can be cloned for $25,000 while dogs cost $50,000.
The differences in cost are because of the differences in the reproductive cycles of the two animals. Cats have a much shorter estrus cycle that can happen multiple times a year, dogs, on the other hand, have an estrus cycle less than twice a year.
