Tom Brady Reveals His Dog Junie Is a Clone and the De-Extinction Era Is Here
Tom Brady: collector of rings, questionable investments, and now, cloned curiosities. Yes, you read that right. In an interview with People Magazine on Tuesday, the longtime Patriots quarterback revealed that his current pooch, Junie, is a clone of his late dog, Lua, who passed away nearly two years ago. He also took the opportunity to reveal that the dog was cloned by Colossal Biosciences, a biotech startup known for its “de-extinction” initiatives and which made headlines earlier this year for claiming to bring back the long dead dire wolf. Brady, of course, is an investor in Colossal. Lua, a bulldog mix, died in December 2023. According to Brady, she was cloned with a blood sample collected before her passing. “I love my animals. They mean the world to me and my family,” the septuple Super Bowl champion said. “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.” Colossal, he added, “gave my family a second chance with a clone of our beloved dog.” Brady’s duplicated dog is another example of the burgeoning and already lucrative world of animal cloning. To many, the idea remains creepy. But by bringing back clones of people’s cherished but perished pets, the practice has gained some traction among the rich and/or famous, since at present it remains prohibitively expensive. Arguably the leading cloning company is ViaGen Pets & Equine, which famously provided Barbara Streisand not one, not two, but three clones of her Coton de Tuléar, and claims to have cloned hundreds of other pets. One customer had the same horse cloned 50 times, its chief executive told The Atlantic. Another company, Trans Ova Genetics, makes its bread by duplicating livestock. Needless to say, the practice has come a long way since Dolly the sheep became the world’s first cloned mammal made from an adult cell back in 1996. Another way genetic cloning has captured public attention is through efforts to resurrect long extinct species, like the woolly mammoth, as Colossal, the company Brady has invested in, claims to be doing by creating “woolly mice” that replicate the dead mammal’s shaggy pelt. Though Colossal claims that bringing back these creatures will provide some sort of environmental and scientific good, many scientists view the altruistic premise as spurious at best — embodied by the company’s incredible assertion that unleashing hordes of mammoths onto the Arctic could save the region’s imperiled permafrost from climate change by packing down the ice with their heavy footsteps. Speaking of, there appears to be a bit of a power struggle behind the cloning industry scenes. On the same day Brady shared the news about his cloned animal, Colossal announced that it had acquired ViaGen. Not unlike a quarterback taking credit for orchestrating a masterful play, Brady enthused about the cloning collab’s potential. Speaking to People, he said that he’s “excited how Colossal and Viagen’s tech together can help both families losing their beloved pets while helping to save endangered species.” More on cloning: Trump Official Says It’s Okay to Destroy Endangered Species Because We Can Just Clone Them I’m a tech and science correspondent for Futurism, where I’m particularly interested in astrophysics, the business and ethics of artificial intelligence and automation, and the environment.
In This Article:
Junie’s Lineage and the Clone Details
Lua, a bulldog mix, died in December 2023. Brady says she was cloned with a blood sample collected before her passing. Junie is described as a clone of Lua, Brady’s late dog. “I love my animals. They mean the world to me and my family,” the septuple Super Bowl champion said. “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.” Colossal, he added, “gave my family a second chance with a clone of our beloved dog.” Brady’s words underscore a broader trend: the growing appetite among affluent dog owners to bring back pets in cloned form, even as the science remains controversial and expensive.
A Web of Cloning Companies and the Ethics Debate
Brady’s story sits in a wider constellation of companies and debates about cloning pets. ViaGen Pets & Equine is commonly cited as a leading player, and Barbara Streisand famously commissioned three clones of her Coton de Tuléar, with the company claiming to have cloned hundreds of other pets. One customer had the same horse cloned 50 times, its chief executive told The Atlantic. Trans Ova Genetics is another major player, making its bread by duplicating livestock. The field has evolved considerably since Dolly the sheep became the world’s first cloned mammal made from an adult cell in 1996. Beyond pets, the buzz around cloning intersects with grand environmental ambitions, such as attempts to resurrect extinct species like the woolly mammoth. Colossal has claimed to pursue these efforts, though many scientists view the premise with skepticism and concern over ethics, governance, and ecological consequences.
Colossal’s Bold Moves and Mammoth Dreams
Colossal claims its work could bring environmental or scientific benefits, including reviving long-extinct species. The company describes projects like creating “woolly mice” that replicate the mammal’s shaggy pelt as a step toward larger goals. Yet critics argue that these projects are speculative and ethically fraught, and the idea of unleashing cloned megafauna into the Arctic raises serious ecological questions. The article notes a broader culture of ambition and hype around de-extinction and cloning within the tech and biotech communities.
Colossal Acquires ViaGen and Brady’s Endorsement of the Merge
On the same day Brady shared the news about his cloned animal, Colossal announced that it had acquired ViaGen. Brady enthused about the potential of the collaboration, saying he’s “excited how Colossal and Viagen’s tech together can help both families losing their beloved pets while helping to save endangered species.” The piece frames the acquisition as part of a broader power dynamic in the cloning industry, describing it as a moment of consolidation and debate among players who see cloning as a new frontier in both science and commerce. I’m a tech and science correspondent for Futurism, where I’m particularly interested in astrophysics, the business and ethics of artificial intelligence and automation, and the environment.
Author Bio: Futurism Tech and Science Correspondent
I’m a tech and science correspondent for Futurism, where I’m particularly interested in astrophysics, the business and ethics of artificial intelligence and automation, and the environment.
