Search dog that helped at Ground Zero will be cloned
Story By: Bea Karnes
Source: NBC
His name is Trakr. At 15 he no longer gets around as well as he used to as a search dog. But now the German Shepherd stands to make history by being cloned.
"If his legacy can live on, be greatest gift I ever received," said James Symington, Trakr’s Owner. A former police officer in Nova Scotia, James Symington showed us some of Trakr's honors and awards from their work together.
The toughest test came at 9/11Ground Zero. Symington and Trakr made the 14 hour drive to New York, and immediately set to work with fire fighters looking for trapped survivors. Symington says rescuers came over to dig as he and Trakr moved to a new search site. Later they learned a survivor had been found alive.
Lou Hawthorne is with the Bay Area Biotech company Bio Arts International. He is now trying to make a commercial business of cloning dogs. To publicize the business launch, Bio Arts is offering to cover the expenses of cloning a special dog as chosen through an essay contest. Trakr was the winner.
It is science not without controversy, and the effort to produce Trakr's clone will be done in a South Korean Laboratory. An earlier effort launched by Hawthorne to clone cats, Genetic Savings and Clone, went out of business.
The Humane Society of the United States, among other critics, says money spent on cloning efforts would be better spent rescuing abandoned dogs.
Symington and Hawthorne disagree. "It's a very special service, not for everyone," said Hawthorne.
"Part of him will live on - is special to me. Make his passing easier," said Symington.
