This Just In...
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “INTERchange,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Franklin.
The Barking Lot
By Kevin Fischer
Saturday, Sep 13 2008, 10:50 AM
I have said many times that I would gladly take an exact duplicate of my Basenji-mix Sugar. She was such an outstanding dog that if I could wave a magic wand and have her from puppy to old age all over again, I would do it in a heartbeat.
I truly hope that someday I will have a dog that has the same wonderful qualities as Sugar did. I want a dog that is gentle, loving, and fun to be around. I want a dog whose behavioral qualities include not jumping, minimal barking and who wouldn’t harm the fleas on its back.
I loved Sugar with all my heart. But I would not consider CLONING her to have her in my life again. Oh, I could give all sorts of bioethical arguments, religious arguments and coin the much-overused phrase, “it’s a slippery slope.” I was a Philosophy minor, I know all about the slippery slope rebuttal. The most succinct way to express my feelings about this is, “It creeps me out.”
Wave a magic wand? Yes. Sell my home to have it happen? Um, no.
This is not to say that I don’t understand, to some extent, why Bernann McKinney sold her home for money to have her beloved Pit Bull Booger cloned into five puppies.
Pet owners throughout history have gone to financial extremes to help their four-legged friends. Last week I blogged about Ted Schneck, founder of The Dog Cancer Ride. This is just one example of pet owners making sacrifices for their pet’s health.
We’re not talking about cloning for medical research and I’m not even going to get in to that arena. We are talking about “everyday” people paying money to a private firm to clone their pets. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals takes this position on cloning pets. The San Francisco SPCA furthers this opinion with their statement.
Cloning your pet comes with a steep price tag. It also carries several other consequences… not the least of which is (almost certain) compromised health for the clones. I’m sorry, but I feel there are many other opportunities to bring new joy into your life after the loss of a pet. If you had a fondness for that particular breed you could adopt from a breed rescue. If you are not able to adopt another pet right away, you could donate money to your local shelter in memory of your pet. If you can not offer financial support to a shelter, consider volunteering. You would be helping the organization and you would have the benefit of animal interaction to help ease your pain.
Perhaps someday cloning pets will be as common as dog parks. But I certainly hope not.
---Jennifer Fischer
Thank you once again, Jennifer.
When Jennifer's done, it's time for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
We have some dog heroes this week. There's Sadie......
And Lexi .....
And Pebbles. I hope UWM students weren't involved in this one. Some rather large bulldogs are missing.
This too shall pass....but not easily.
Save a Dog, Win a Hog!
That's it, fido fans. We close with this week's announcement of the winner of the CBS series, "The Great American Dog."
