Petside Items: Cloning and Cat fur

Wow! I know I vaguely heard something going on about cloning going on some time back, and we recently did an in depth article about it on petside.com, but...did you believe it would go this far? I guess it was selective memory on my part, but I still felt a sense of disbelief when I saw today's headlines. Seven cloned puppies named Toppy - a clever amalgamation of Tomorrow’s puppy - were born in late 2007 to three surrogate mothers under a state-funded project in Korea. Today, the Korean customs service has unveiled the group of seven cloned Labrador Retrievers that are being trained to sniff out explosives and drugs at ports and airports. I'm not sure what's next. Back in January, human embryo was cloned in an experiment to advance research aimed at creating replacement tissue that is genetically matched to individual patients. I mean, I do love my Sheltie, but I think part of the fun for me is that he is NOT exactly the same as my last dog, a shepherd collie mix. To each his own. As for cat tales this week, the word is if you're thinking about traveling with your pet, don't go to Switzerland. This land of peace, harmony and great milk chocolate, is also the last country in Western Europe in which it is still legal for cats to be hunted for their fur. The fur is used to make coats, jackets and bed blankets, reputed there to be highly effective in combating rheumatism. Fortunately, cat lovers might consider destination Tokyo where the cafe Neko JaLaLa is a popular hang out for stressed out business people who enjoy a cat break. Neko is the Japanese word for cat, and these felines are considered staff employees who enjoy their job of being stroked, petted and cuddled from the cafe customers. Now that's what I call serenity. Let us know your local news stories at stories@petside.com