A Maryland Company Is In The Pet-Cloning Business

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A lot of people were intrigued to learn this week that singer Barbra Streisand was able to clone her beloved dog Samantha, who died last year.

Two of her Coton de Tulear pups, Violet and Scarlet, were produced from Samantha's cells, she told Variety.

"They have different personalities," Streisand told the magazine. "I'm waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her brown eyes and her seriousness."

But you might be surprised to learn that one Maryland-based company has been in the pet cloning business for years.

Germantown synthetic biology company Intrexon Corp. is the parent company of Texas-based ViaGen LC, which in October 2015 announced it successfully delivered two litters of healthy cloned kittens for the first time.

"Our goal is to bring this opportunity to all pet owners and their families," Blake Russell, President of ViaGen Pets, said at the time.

ViaGen Pets apparently "has clients across multiple countries that have trusted the Company to deliver a genetic twin of their puppies and kittens," and is a "trusted world leader in cloned mammals."

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