Niamh Shackleton
Tom Brady has revealed that his dog Junie is a clone of his late pooch who passed away in 2023, sparking controversy amongst fans.
Brady and his ex wife Gisele Bündchen rescued pit bull mix Lua together, and the beloved dog played a huge role in their and their children's lives.
Sadly, Lua died in 2023, and retired football star Brady got a new dog named Junie. Notably, Junie looks very similar to Lua and Brady has now explained why...
"I love my animals. They mean the world to me and my family," Brady said in a statement, per PEOPLE.
Advert
"A few years ago, I worked with Colossal and leveraged their non-invasive cloning technology through a simple blood draw of our family's elderly dog before she passed."
He went on to say that Colossal Biosciences 'gave my family a second chance with a clone of our beloved dog'.
Brady, who is invested in the biotech company, added that he's excited about 'how Colossal and Viagen's tech together can help both families losing their beloved pets while helping to save endangered species'.
Brady's revelation has raised a lot of eyebrows and sparked a discussion about whether people should clone their pets or not.
One naysayer shared on Reddit: "I love my cat so, so much. But I would never be able to clone him. The clone would have its own personality and that’s just setting everyone up for heartbreak. Plus it’s weird."
Others noted how expensive it is to clone a pet. As per the Viagen website, it costs $50,000 to clone a cat or dog, or $85,000 to clone a horse.
Even if they had the money, some people still wouldn't clone their late furry friends, as somebody said: "I personally couldn't do this emotionally, even if it was doable financially.
"My beloved senior cat passed in March. She was a gem and just... so special. I can't imagine trying to get a copy of her that doesn't have her little personality. It feels like it would be more heartbreaking."
"The amount of animals that could have been rescued or given medical help with the money he must have spent on this makes me so so sad," wrote another critic.
Echoing similar sentiments, another person penned: "With all the animals that’s desperately need to be adopted, f**k anyone who does this."
"I adore my dog but I would never do this even if I was rich. It might be cloned but it isn’t the original dog in my view," added somebody else.
UNILAD have approached Brady's reps for comment.