Quick Take: I Cloned My Pet, "Episode One"
"I lost my wife...but it was nothing like losing my Wolfie." - Peter
Review: I Cloned My Pet, "Episode One"
(S0101) Let me start by saying that I Cloned My Pet is nothing like I expected it to be. Given that the show airs on TLC, which of course stands for The Learning Channel, I assumed the show would be an exploration of the breakthrough scientific process of cloning animals and a look into the ethical/moral dilemmas inherent in cloning. While the show certainly touches upon the scientific stuff, science and morality are by no means the focus of the show.
Instead, I Cloned My Pet places its focus on the pet owners who spend upwards of $50,000 to have their beloved, dead pooches cloned. And for good reason, too. These people are absolutely nuts. Thus, I Cloned My Pet has joined a long line of recent shows (Hoarders, I Didn't I Was Pregnant, Intervention, etc.) to exploit a unique/strange mental illness. I know some people will want to argue with me and make the point that loving your deceased pet isn't a mental illness. These people probably have not seen I Cloned My Pet. The dog lovers on this show are completely and totally whacked.
The first pet owner the show profiles is Danielle from Staten Island, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Jillian Michaels. Of the two people featured in this premiere episode, she appears to be the sanest. That said, she still does some crazy-ass shit. For example: She has a three-year-old piece of chicken in her freezer, which she planned to feed to her dog Trouble on the day that he died. She has the remnants of his last bowl of water saved in her refrigerator, as well as 10 foot by 10 foot mural of Trouble painted on her living room wall. Someone has been taking their interior design cues from Gilbert Arenas!
The second dog lover on I Cloned My Pet is Peter…and honestly, I don’t know where to begin with this guy. First of all, he’s a nerdy Asian guy who claims to have been a member of a Los Angeles street gang. He credits his dog Wolfie with helping escape the thug life. Secondly, he has a pretty sexy girlfriend, and yet all outward appearances would indicate that he’s a flaming homosexual. Third, and most importantly, he’s probably the creepiest dude I’ve seen on TV in a long, long time.
Case in point: Peter has a picture frame full of Wolfie’s hair -- harvested from the poor dog's corpse -- on his coffee table. He has a shrine to Wolfie in his backyard full of canine-themed stuffed animals. Peter goes on dates to restaurants by himself and sets a picture of Wolfie on the table across from him.
Here are some choice quotes from Peter:
The episode ends with both Danielle and Peter successfully obtaining their new cloned pets. Danielle has hers delivered to Staten Island, while Peter and his hot girlfriend travel to Korea to oversee the clone-birth
I’m not sure I’m ever going to watch I Cloned My Pet again, but I would highly recommend it, especially if you are into cringe-laughing at other peoples’ expense.
I watched this show last night and all I can say is that these people need some serious help. I love animals, too. I've had cats and dogs die before, but I would never dream of trying to clone any of them. Number One: They aren't considering what these Koreans are doing to the other animals involved in the cloning process. What about the "mother" who carries these puppies in their womb? My guess is that they aren't treated so well. Look at the background cages and state of the room....the very room they performed the surgery in. Wasn't very sanitary - didn't look like much care was provided to the mother. TERRIBLE!
Number Two: These idiots actually think that cloning will bring their beloved dog back from the dead? Nonsense. They will get a carbon copy, but it will have a completely different "soul" and personality. Their beloved pet is in doggy heaven, gone. They would have been further ahead to go out and find another lovely dog from a shelter and then fall in love all over again with someone new.
These people who need serious therapy are only providing a financial boom to the Koreans. The Koreans aren't doing this out of any love for these dogs, and the ones being used in the process are likely abused & neglected. They only see this as an opportunity to make lots of money.
Even the supposed "Dog Whisperer" that appeared on this show was a fraud. When they asked him if the new cloned puppy was their long lost companion, he fabricated a conversation with this dog based on a bit of information he knew prior to being asked.
These cloned dogs are only a shell of the pet they used to love and adore. Why not keep all that money and go to a pet adoption center instead? EVERY dog or cat has special qualities to fall in love with.
Jany,
You bring up two good points.
I, too, got the impression that the mothers of these clones were probably going to be put down as soon as the clones were born.
Secondly, this whole show seemed to validate the (insane) notion that a clone is the same thing a reincarnation. They kept making references to the clones "remembering" their owners, which is completely scientifically unsound.
DSN,
After reading the first paragraph, I was waiting with baited breath for a "Korean-dog-eating-joke", but, alas, it never materialized.
Thanks for the comment, though.
This show left me feeling very uneasy. I have a dog that I absolutely love soo much, and I know when he passes one day (like in 50 years :P) I will want him back in a metaphorical sense. But life and death are a part of life. Every living thing eventually dies. Humans and animals with souls deserve the same respect when pronounced dead- rest in peace. Memories are a wonderful thing to look back upon when feel sadness about a loss, but life moves on and other wonderful memories are waiting to be created. And I agree with Jany when she said that these people would be better off rescuing a sheltered animal. To end, I also feel that these people need psychological help. It seems they all have something in common, loniness, low self esteem, and not trusting of human, and they take the caring affection and loyalty that all dogs give and somehow misinterpret that with real love and attachment, far beyond anything else they may have ever experienced, sadly to say.
In addition, I also go the strong errie feeling that the lab where these poor animals are being implanted dogs embyo's are mistreated in some way. Frist they are clearly used as scientific experiment. Once the female dog is deemed "pregnant" Im sure they are fed well and given a comfortable area to walk around in so that the mommy and puppy fetus are healthy, but once the mommy serrogate dog are in labour, they are rushed into an operating table if unable to vaginally deliver the pup, and then once delivered, Im sure these dogs aren't worth much thereafter, and probably put down or left on the streert to fend for themselves.....all for the sake of one cloned puppy who has a loopy doppy mommy waiting at home by the window singing a cheque to the Korean doc's for $50,000 :)
This show creeped me out. The Asian man definetly is off is rocker. To fly to Korea ans sing a song to a dog that is NOT his old dog eww he is GROSS.His girlfriend has got to be crazy also.
Is there going to be a 2nd episode i loved the show... Plz tell me.
Vanessa,
It's my understanding that I Cloned My Pet was a one-off special. However, if viewer response is any indication of ratings success, I wouldn't be surprised to see a new episode sometime soon.