A California family wasn’t ready to say goodbye after the death of their dog of 12 years, who had once saved them from a rattlesnake, so they had him cloned.
Ziggy is like a lot of other dogs, exuberant (精力充沛的) and curious, but he’s a clone of Marley, the first dog of his owners, David and Alicia Tschirhart.
“It’s gone beyond my expectations, as far as what Ziggy would be,” David Tschirhart said.
The Tschirharts had Marley for 12 years, and when he died, they weren’t ready to say goodbye. So the family turned to ViaGen, a company that offers cloning services for pets. It uses the same technology famously used to clone Dolly the sheep in 1997.
“They have the same personality. They play the same. They favor the same toys,” Alicia Tschirhart said.
The costs for ViaGen’s services are listed online with dogs at $50,000 and cats at $35,000. A spokesperson says they currently have a one-year waiting list.
But for the Tschuharts, it was a small price to pay to give new life to Marley, who the family says saved their lives in 2014.
When Alicia Tschirhart was about four months pregnant, the family was on a hike on Battle Mountain, and Alicia was looking for a walking stick. Marley sensed something his owners did not.
“I saw this really big stick, so I was focused on grabbing that, I didn’t even see the snake until Marley came and was clawing (用爪子抓),” Alicia Tschirhart said.
A rattlesnake had been right next to the stick, but it slithered (滑行) away when Marley jumped in to prevent disaster.
Five years after Marley’s death, the growing family has Ziggy-and, therefore, a piece of Marley-with them.
8. What do we know about Ziggy?
A.He is 12 years old. |
B.He saved his owners’ life. |
C.He behaves differently from Marley. |
D.He is a clone of the Tschirharts previous dog. |
9. What do the Tschirharts think about ViaGen’s services?
A.They should be banned. |
B.They are worthwhile for them. |
C.They may be harmful to animals. |
D.They are affordable for many people. |
10. What happened to Alicia during her hike on Battle Mountain?
A.She was badly clawed. |
B.She lost her walking stick. |
C.She fell down the mountain. |
D.She was nearly bitten by a snake. |
11. What is the purpose of the text?
A.To show the bad influence of cloning. |
B.To introduce a new pet cloning technology. |
C.To tell readers how a dog helped bis owners prevent a disaster. |
D.To report the news that a family has their beloved dog cloned. |