A couple whose dog was killed after being hit on the road are to spend almost £40,000 on cloning their beloved pet.
Bijoux, a 10-month-old cross between a husky and a chow chow, went missing from the garden of owners Dominika Sojka and Ian Clague in Bournemouth, Dorset, in June.
The following day, the couple received a call from a local vet to say their dog had died after being brought in.
Devastated by the news, the couple decided to contact Gemini Genetics on cloning Bijoux - a practice banned in the UK, but legal in the States.
They have taken DNA from the dog’s armpit which is now being securely stored ahead of sending it to a US-based company called Viagen for the procedure.
It will cost around $50,000 (£38,848).
Life with Bijoux was a “very happy life for her and for us, and we’d love to recreate it,” Mr Clague told The Independent.
“It [hearing Bijoux had died] was a very difficult, very sad moment, I just couldn’t stop crying, I don’t think you kind of realise this type of thing can happen to you.”
After contacting Gemini Genetics, the couple are now on a waiting list for the procedure that will see a fertilised egg inserted into a trained dog that acts as a surrogate for clone embryos.
It will take around eight months for “Bijoux 2.0” to be born, said Mr Clague.
Ms Sojka said the new dog won’t have “exactly the same conscience” but that “biologically, it is the same dog”. She added: “I know this is a big part of actual Bijoux, because that’s her living cells, that’s her really in this dog.”
A lot of personality traits are genetic, Ms Sojka added.
“She will act the same, she will even walk the same, she will have the same size, she will even have the same fur.”
The cloned dog will be named Bijou Bijoux, meaning “Little Bijoux” or, more literally, “Little Jewel”.
After Bijoux’s death, the couple are also supporting the Blue Cross Code campaign, which seeks to educate people on how to respond after hitting a pet with their car.
Figures from the charity found that nearly 9 in 10 drivers (86 per cent) would not phone the police if they injured a dog and no owner was in sight - despite it being their legal duty.
Mr Clague said: “She was an ideal dog. We chose her for certain reasons because of her exercise profile and her friendliness.
“She was very outgoing. She loved people and dogs, and she was tragically taken away from us. She’d grown used to our lifestyle, and I’m sure that could be achieved again.
“It’s [cloning] a source of hope. She was taken away from us rather tragically, too soon, and this reduces the pain of that loss.”
