Dog, Inc.: The Uncanny Inside Story of Cloning Man's Best Friend

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Dog, Inc.: The Uncanny Inside Story of Cloning Man's Best Friend

3.38 of 5 stars 3.38 · rating details · 89 ratings · 29 reviews

What Stiff did for the dead and Fast Food Nation did for the burger, Dog, Inc. does for the stranger-than-fiction world of commercial dog cloning.

It all began with a pit bull named Booger. Former Miss Wyoming Bernann McKinney was so distraught over the death of her dog, whom she regarded as her guardian and savior, that she paid $50,000 to RNL Bio for the chance to bring...more

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published December 30th 2010 by Avery

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Jan 02, 2012 Kater Cheek rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is the kind of book I usually like very much--topical science written for the layperson. It starts out good; the subject is narrow enough to really delve into it, and Woestendiek knows to use biographical information to create a narrative to draw the reader along. Alas, for various reasons, this book will not make my top ten of 2011.

The main characters Woestendiek chooses to focus on are a millionaire who founded the first American cloning-for-profit organization, the Korean scientists who...more This is the kind of book I usually like very much--topical science written for the layperson. It starts out good; the subject is narrow enough to really delve into it, and Woestendiek knows to use biographical information to create a narrative to draw the reader along. Alas, for various reasons, this book will not make my top ten of 2011.

The main characters Woestendiek chooses to focus on are a millionaire who founded the first American cloning-for-profit organization, the Korean scientists who actually succeed in cloning a dog, the police dog Trakr and his handler, and Bertrann McKinney who goes to the ends of the earth to clone her beloved service dog Booger.

The millionaire first decides to start the company to clone his mother's dog, Missy. Woestendiek spends a chapter or two giving biographical data about this guy and his mom, but I kept losing track of who was who and why they were relevant to the story. Like many millionaires, they aren't as interesting as they think they are. Once we're past the biography, Woestendiek talks about how they found the Missiplicity project, and get Texas A&M researchers to create the technology.

The researchers at A&M aren't successful at first. Difficulties arise because for one, dog eggs are apparently opaque, and secondly, Americans are in general batshit crazy when it comes to dogs. With the restrictions from nature and from animal right's groups, they aren't able to clone a dog, but they do clone other animals.

Woestendiek talks about the cloning of cats, and about the various successes and setbacks thereof. He also talks quite a bit about a remarkably tame bull named Chance, who got cloned by the Texas A&M researchers. The first bull was so tame that toddlers could ride his back. The clone, uncreatively named "Second Chance" gored his owner, who nonetheless refused to believe the bull was any bit different from the first one.

And that's the real philosophical issue raised by cloning in general and explored by this book. Clones are not the same as their parents. Calico cats clones don't have the same markings, cloned bulls don't have the same temprament, and cloned dogs sometimes don't even look like their parent. They are not the same animal, yet grief-stricken pet owners refuse to believe that the clone is anything other than a reincarnation of the Spot or Fido they lost.

The Korean scientists manage to clone dogs, with the aid of a ready supply of egg donor bitches, an incredibly intense work ethic, and the resounding support of the South Korean government. The author implies that successful dog cloning was also made much easier by the Korean's attitude towards dogs, an attitude that many Americans disagree with. (If you put a chicken in a cage for its whole life, then kill it and eat it, that's business as usual. If you do the same to a dog, somehow that's a heinous crime against nature.) When the scientists in Korea are successful, they are hailed as heroes, lauded and practically worshipped, even after allegations of fraud and embezzling surface.

However, the most interesting story in this book is the one of Bertrann McKinney. Despite living on $500 a month disability check, she managed to get the Korean firm to discount $100,000 off the bill, and scrape up the $50,000 plus expenses to fly to Korea and have her beloved dog Booger cloned. Bertrann's love for her dog is unusual in its depth, and I would admire it if I could sympathize with it. I'm not a dog person. Like chickens, dogs are filthy, stupid, noisy and destructive, but chickens are tasty and even if they attack, they don't maim you so badly that you need a service animal just to put your socks on*, as Bertrann did after her father's dog attacked her.

Bertrann reacts to the death of her dog Booger in the same way that Bella Swan reacts when Edward Cullen leaves her. This behavior, in a lovesick teen pining for her boyfriend, is cute and sad. In a middle-aged woman pining for a mutt named after something you blow out of your nose, it's perverse and bizarre. I've been sad when my pets die, but this level of attachment just struck me as wrong. It was like reading about a woman who is trying to legally marry a dolphin. It's a nearly impossible quest undertaken for love, but it's so unnatural that it just seems mentally ill. The best outcome in Bertrann's case would not be that she get to clone her dog, but that she get some help she could put things into perspective. I wanted to tell her, "It's just a dog, there are a gazillion more out there dying every day. Go adopt one and get over it."

Woestendiek talks about the legal battles between the various organizations, but this interested me not at all. I liked reading about the science involved, but I wished there had been more of it. In general, I wished there had been more about the science, especially detailed explanations of biology, and less biography of unlikeable and unsympathetic people.

The main reason why I didn't like this book more is that it made me uncomfortable. Not because I'm terrified of new technology (though I think cloning a person would be a horrible idea, because none of the clones in the book are anywhere near healthy) but because it makes me uncomfortable when I'm confronted with uncanny pseudo-human role that dogs play in our society. Bertrann and some of the other dog-owners who went to great lengths to recreate their beloved pets treat their dogs like members of the family, child substitutes whom they love with a depth that rivals any human-human bond. I know I'm in the minority when I say this, but dogs are animals, equal to and (in my opinion) no greater than chickens, cats, pigs, horses, sheep and rats. They will never be people, and treating dogs like people--though millions of my countrymen do it--feels as perverse as wanting to marry a dolphin.

If there had been more science and less law, and if the people that Woesteniek followed had passions I could identify with, I think I would have liked this much more. I recommend this for people who love dogs, and those who like to read about bizarre mavericks and psychotic women, and for people who want to know about the cloning technology without being burdened with too much scientific description.(less)

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May 24, 2013 Lori-ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not a bad read but it did lag in a few spots. The cloning of pets is such an emotional sell for those who have loved and lost animals. Entertaining the fantasy that I would have had the means, I am certain that when I was a much younger woman and my beloved Peanut died that I would have had her cloned. Without a doubt I would have been sold on this. That being said, being older and wiser, I would have hoped someone would have talked some sense into me and talked me out of it, or slapped me until...more Not a bad read but it did lag in a few spots. The cloning of pets is such an emotional sell for those who have loved and lost animals. Entertaining the fantasy that I would have had the means, I am certain that when I was a much younger woman and my beloved Peanut died that I would have had her cloned. Without a doubt I would have been sold on this. That being said, being older and wiser, I would have hoped someone would have talked some sense into me and talked me out of it, or slapped me until I came to my senses. There is so much more at stake than our personal grief. In my opinion cloning your pet is a selfish act.

So many dogs have been abused in the name of this science. It took many many experiments on other less valued animals to clone those favored few. Not to mention all the dogs and cats euthanized each year because no one wants them. The first successfully cloned animals lived their lives in crates in laboratories, occasionally leaving the lab to be put on display elsewhere. Many cloned animals either die at birth or shortly after, and some suffer with various abnormalities. Frankly I had a hard time understanding the personalities described throughout this book. I don’t think I would want my beloved pets stuffed, skinned, or mounted for the sake of my personal grief, anymore than I would want them cloned. (Several people who had their pets cloned, also had pets made into ornaments. Something to mull over for sure.) When my pets die I wish them dignity in death. I would not want my grandmother mounted over the fire place, so why my dog? Clones of my human loved ones would not in any way lessen my grief. Although not everyone who clones their pet believes the soul of their lost pet re-enters the body of the clone, some do, while some come up with a form of graded belief – say not the same soul but one that is identical (Even when more than one clone is produced)

There are tempting reasons to clone some animals, for example endangered species, or dogs particularly suited to be service dogs, but this doesn’t convince me. Transgenic animals are not necessarily from clones but this is a procedure where animals are injected with human genes in the hopes that they will serve as “four-legged drug factories” that could produce $200-$400 million each in pharmaceuticals. For example, Tracy, a transgenic sheep (Wilmut, 1990) produced milk that contained an enzyme used in the treatment of emphysema and cystic fibrosis. These are certainly compelling rationales for the science. Yet, I remain unconvinced that animals deserve this. The Moran Market in South Korea is a block-long open air bazaar where a live dog can be picked out and slaughtered on site. There is a particular breed that is bred for food, but any breed can be bought, sold, slaughtered, or brought to a lab. We blanche at this, yet remain tempted to allow science to slice open one dog, steal her biological material (eggs) and another dog’s womb, and produce a more valued dog for a paying customer. I can’t right that in my mind.

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Apr 10, 2012 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, non-fiction, extreme-pet-ownership

For the record, my family has a dog, a beautiful, neurotic border collie named Bailey. And we love him dearly. There's never been another dog like him and there never will be. He's sweet and crazy and we can't imagine life without him. Seeing as how he's six years old now, in about eight or nine years, we'll have exactly that--life without Bailey. And we'll deal with it.

Woestendiek's book is about dog owners who love their dogs so much, they refuse to have a life without their one-of-a-kind comp...more For the record, my family has a dog, a beautiful, neurotic border collie named Bailey. And we love him dearly. There's never been another dog like him and there never will be. He's sweet and crazy and we can't imagine life without him. Seeing as how he's six years old now, in about eight or nine years, we'll have exactly that--life without Bailey. And we'll deal with it.

Woestendiek's book is about dog owners who love their dogs so much, they refuse to have a life without their one-of-a-kind companion, as well as the scientists and entrepreneurs who endeavor to recreate their pets--for a hefty fee, of course.

The book chronicles how a leisurely Sunday morning breakfast discussion at the home of millionaire John Sperling led to a ten year long quest to clone Missy, the family dog. The book traces this journey through the labs at Texas A&M and its attempts at cloning various species, including cats, bulls and pigs; to the Korean scientists who managed to clone dogs and market the business to grieving pet owners; and of course, the eccentric dog owners and the amazing dogs they loved so much.

Woestendiek also relates the irony of just how many animals are required to re-create a handful of pets. "It took 319 egg donors and 214 surrogate mothers to produce the first five dogs and eleven cats--sixteen animals resulting from the creation and implantation of 3,656 embryos." (p. 218)

I was especially fascinated by the story of a reclusive animal lover Bernann McKinney. Living on disability and handouts from her parents, McKinney still managed to have her beloved pit bull Booger cloned by RNL Bio in South Korea.

The message of this book is obvious to everyone but the people who shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to recreate their canine friends. When that little ball of fur arrives, it is a genetic copy of the original, but isn't the same dog. Dogs, like people, are more than their genetic code. And when there are so many dogs out there in need of a home, who are every bit as special as the one you lost, how can anyone possibly consider this folly?

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Jan 02, 2012 Cayr rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dogs

It was 1997 when John Sperling, his friend Joan Hawthorne and her son, Lou, were talking about a New York Times article they had all read about cloning. During the natural progression of the conversation, John suggested that maybe Joan’s dog, Missy, could be cloned. It was an offhand remark, but it took hold, and before long, Sperling was financing a full scale scientific operation to make it happen.

In Dog, Inc., author John Woestendiek takes the reader behind the scenes during the advent of the...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, nonfiction, science

It was a coincidence that, a few weeks after putting this book on hold, it became available while my own dog was sick with out what turned out to be a life-ending bone marrow disease. Reading it as her health declined turned out to be oddly comforting, partially because Woestendiek makes it clear in his introduction that he's a lover of shelter mutts. Unlike the people who have cloned their pets, he also doesn't believe it's possible to replace a dog.

Far from presenting a "yay, progress!" paean...more

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Jun 01, 2011 Genevieve rated it 3 of 5 stars

The title of this book intrigued me, as I had never heard of commercial dog cloning, but it does exist. And this is the investigative story of the history (America vs. Korea) of it, and the people who want to clone their dogs (and one super super crazy lady). For the scientist in me, it's pretty nerdy but also interesting. I remember reading that a dog was cloned, but I hadn't heard anything about it since.

The only thing that irked me about his writing style, is that the author repeats himself...more

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Dec 01, 2010 Janice Crespo rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book should be on everyone's reading list. John Woestendiek takes you into the various people in the book in depth and lets you get to know each one. While this is a book about science, you will never read another science book like this. The depth, the imagery, the characters are all one of a kind and he brings you right there with him. If all science books were written like this, we would all be science scholars! Thank you John for opening my eyes to quite a bit! You are now on my top auth...more

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May 19, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals-and-children

What Stiff did for the dead and Fast Food Nation did for the burger, Dog, Inc. does for the stranger-than-fiction world of commercial dog cloning.

It all began with a pit bull named Booger. Former Miss Wyoming Bernann McKinney was so distraught over the death of her dog, whom she regarded as her guardian and savior, that she paid $50,000 to RNL Bio for the chance to bring her beloved companion back to life. The result were five new Boogers-the first successful commercial cloning of a canine- deli...more

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May 19, 2012 Jeanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

We love our dogs, can't bear to lose them. What if we could get them back after death? This book explores the pet cloning industry, it's beginnings and cloning centers in Texas and South Korea. It is very interesting and somewhat spooky. People are paying huge amounts of money to clone beloved pets. But what exactly are they getting for their money?
I thought the book was interesting and informative. I had no idea that so many people were cloning their pets or the history of pet cloning.

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Apr 04, 2011 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an amazing book for anyone who has truly loved their dog and has ever considered cloning as a possibility. After reading this book I would not consider having my dog cloned. The book was well researched and given that it is discussing scientific issues and how/when things were happening it was still entertaining and a quick read.

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Dec 29, 2010 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was excited about this book, because it was my first book from the goodreads giveaway first reads. I had a hard time following all of the names of the scientists and all of the jumping around from story to story that the book did. However, being the proud owner of two amazing dogs myself, I related very well to the lengths people would go to in order to clone or preserve their pets. I also enjoyed the insight to the scientific side of the cloning process. It was told in terms that I could unde...more

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Apr 27, 2011 Bee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cloning, nonfiction, dogs, science

Commercial dog cloning. Wrong on so many levels. Regardless, Woestendiek tells the tale of what prompted the research, how the research and ultimately, the “finished products” came about – successes, controversies, scandals, and all – and two dog owners, one of whom won an essay contest to have his dead dog cloned, while the other is a mentally unstable and narcissistic drama queen who wanted her dead dog back. As Mark Westhusin, one of the Texas A&M researchers on the original project says,...more

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Jan 22, 2011 Sharon Eisen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Although I found it a little all over the place from time to time, I thought the author really did his homework and for the most part presented the material in a very enjoyable way. I learned alot and it it all very interesting.

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Mar 01, 2012 Brianne rated it 2 of 5 stars

I considered giving this book 3 stars, and a sciencey person might. What it does well: It explains cloning pets to people who really have no knowledge of and very little interest in cloning. It's easy reading and interesting in parts. I got bored about halfway through and just skimmed the rest of the book. I realize now that I really just checked this book out because of the cute dog on the cover. However, I did read enough to feel like I learned something, so this wasn't a waste.

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Dec 12, 2010 Tim Helton rated it 4 of 5 stars

dogs inc one of the best book i read this year went into the personel lives of the people that wanted to clone their dogs and the people who done it.and told of the peoples expectation and the reality of cloning

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Apr 20, 2012 Becky Van Houten rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very cool story of the development of cloning animals. Gives a great background in a readable format. Worth reading!

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Apr 12, 2011 Pam rated it 5 of 5 stars

FINALLY a book that explores and exposes the dog cloning business. Read my reviews on BellaDog and Amazon!

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Jan 05, 2011 Michelle marked it as to-read

I may or may not have added this book to my to read list because there is a beagle on the cover.

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Feb 28, 2012 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

I won't ever try to clone a pet, no matter how much money I have.

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Jan 26, 2011 Claire rated it 4 of 5 stars

This sounds really cool. i want to read it so bad.

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Mar 31, 2012 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, non-fiction, science

John Woestendiek has written a real page turner. This book on the history of cloning is a entertaining combination of the Journal Nature and the tabloid National Enquirer. Technical aspects are covered at a level easily understood by an average reader. The legal trials and publicity seeking nature of people involved in cloning provided plenty of verifiable stories for Woestendiek to report. He bring out the ethical dilemmas associated with cloning while giving readers and entertaining story that...more

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Feb 24, 2011 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Structure of book was a bit awkward, but it's a fascinating subject.

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Jul 03, 2011 bookgoddess88 rated it 2 of 5 stars

I thought this would focus more on the owners who decided to clone their dogs. If your a science buff or scientist, you will enjoy this. As a dog lover, parts were very hard to get through. A lot of experiments on dogs...especially beagles. :( This book didn't hold back and told you the way it is...complete with every species that's been cloned and/or tried to clone. After reading this book, I don't think you should mess with nature...it wasn't for me.

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Mar 02, 2011 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, nonfiction

I almost had to abandon the book because of the staccato, clause-heavy writing style. It was like he tried to construct his sentences as clumsily as possible. Once I got over that, I still felt he just didn't give the story enough heart. Fascinating material, but it lacked soul...perhaps, just like clones?

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Jan 30, 2011 Danielle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, nonfiction

People are cuckoo-la-roo.

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Nov 17, 2011 Claire rated it 3 of 5 stars

I learned a lot about cloning and the lengths people will go to in order to bring their pets "back to life". Definitely made me want to enjoy my dog while she is here realizing that no clone could ever take her place.

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Nov 15, 2012 Rochelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

This book ruined my life, couldn't put it down. Fascinating and sometimes sad story of how cloning, something our generation has as a household word, came about.

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Jul 05, 2012 Valarie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, non-fiction

I enjoyed this book and read it quickly. In some ways it wasn't what I expected. I'm glad I read it. Maybe a more detailed review later.

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Jun 05, 2012 Jozny Wolf rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-read

this was given to me by goodreads first reads.

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May 16, 2013 Mike marked it as to-read

Shelves: dogs

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About John Woestendiek

Pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter John Woestendiek writes and produces the popular dog website “ohmidog!” He's a 35-year veteran of newspapers, most recently the Baltimore Sun, which he left in 2008 to research and write “Dog, Inc.”

He has also worked for the Arizona Daily Star, Lexington Herald-Leader, Charlotte Observer, and Philadelphia Inquirer, where he won a Pulitzer in 1987 for a...more

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