Jul 1, 2008 9:03 pm US/Pacific
Marin Scientists To Clone Heroic 9-11 Rescue Dog
MILL VALLEY (CBS 5) ―
A hero search-and-rescue dog that became famous for sniffing out survivors from under the rubble of New York's World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks is set to be cloned, according to a Marin County scientific firm that plans to conduct the controversial procedure.
Trakr, a German shepherd who lives with his owner - retired Canadian police officer James Symington - in Los Angeles, was responsible for locating the last human survivor of the 9/11 tragedy at Ground Zero, about 30-feet below the rubble and debris.
Mill Valley-based BioArts International decided that the feat was so remarkable that the dog should be replicated. The company selected Trakr as the most "clone-worthy" canine in a competition offering an owner a free chance to replicate their pet.
"Trakr means the world to me," Symington said. "To know that part of him is going to live on is just beyond words. It's the greatest gift I've ever received."
In the next month, BioArts said it would transport a sample of Trakr's DNA to a South Korean partner lab and hoped to have the cloning work completed by the end of the year.
BioArts officials said it costs about $150,000 to clone a pet.
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