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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 14, 2005 Roland and Mary Ann Daniels of Medford hope to one day after their beloved cat Smokey cloned. Some of Smokey�s cells, harvested before he died, are stored at Genetic Savings and Clone Inc. in Texas. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Cloning Smokey Medford couple plan to clone their beloved pet — would you clone yours? By Jonel Aleccia Mail Tribune The question of cloning has come to a neighborhood near you. It arrived almost exactly a year ago, when Roland and Mary Ann Daniels moved from Costa Mesa, Calif., to Medford’s east side. The pair arrived without their 20-year-old cat, Smokey, who died on Aug. 26, just as they signed papers on their new Oregon home. "The vet called and said he wouldn’t last until we got there," said Mary Ann Daniels, 58, an accountant. "We were devastated." Advertisement Grieved as they were, the couple took comfort from the fact that they’d paid about $1,000 three years earlier to have Smokey’s cells harvested and stored at Genetic Savings and Clone Inc., the Texas-based firm that bills itself as the world’s leading pet cloning company. "We wanted to be on the forefront of this," said Mary Ann Daniels, who read about the procedure in a Time magazine article. "We wanted to be one of the first." Smokey was not just another cat, the Danielses explained. The Blue Russian with the huge green eyes showed up on their patio when he was a kitten. For the next two decades, he monitored every move his owners made — and the attachment was mutual. "He followed us from one neighbor to the other," said Roland Daniels, 63, who repairs electronic organs. "He would wait outside until we came out. He was like a dog. We told him what to do and he did it." A 16-pounder with thick gray fur, Smokey had a melodic meow and a personality that transcended pethood, his owners said. "You build up a bond that is like a child," said Roland Daniels. "You want to have a chance to continue with an animal with the same attitude." Because Smokey was neutered as a kitten, he never produced offspring. When he died last year, the Danielses immediately considered regenerating him through the company that produced CC, the world’s first cloned cat, in 2001. The price for the procedure, which originally topped out at $50,000, had been reduced to $32,000, but it was still too expensive, the couple said. "We were given the opportunity to be among the first nine," Mary Ann Daniels said. "I think for sure in about five years. By then it may be about $10,000." When the cost drops, the Danielses will authorize GSC to use some of the cells swabbed by a veterinarian from the inside of Smokey’s cheek. Using a proprietary procedure called chromatin transfer, specialists will treat Smokey’s cells to remove molecules associated with cell differentiation, according to the GSC Web site. Then, an intact donor cell will be fused with the treated egg. The hope is that the egg will "reprogram" the donor cell to allow it to develop into an embryo. Implanted into a surrogate mother cat, the embryo ideally will grow normally and be born naturally, producing a newborn kitten genetically identical to Smokey. The cat would look and, perhaps, act like the original animal, GSC officials said. That’s the only goal Mary Ann Daniels had in mind when she signed up for the procedure. Cloning has sparked complicated debates about the ethics of its use in animals and, ultimately, humans, but Daniels said she doesn’t know what all the angst is about. "We didn’t think there was anything wrong with it," she said. "I still don’t understand why they magnify it. Many things can be used for good or bad." The Danielses regard cloning as a tool that should be strictly regulated but still allowed. That stance is in line with the couple’s overall politics, which lean toward support of stem-cell research and other genetic advancements. "Anything which gives an opportunity that is progressive, I’m in favor of," Mary Ann Daniels said. On the question of human cloning, the couple part ways. Roland Daniels lost his 11-year-old son, Oliver, to a hospital accident only months before Smokey arrived. If there had been a way to regenerate his son, Daniels said he might have considered it. "I would maybe think it would be an avenue," he said. His wife disagreed. "I believe life is created with God’s help," she said. "So I would not be in favor of going around cloning humans." Not even every pet cat is suitable for cloning, Mary Ann Daniels noted. The couple had another cat, a little black female named Suzie. She was a good companion for Smokey, but she was willful, Roland Daniels said. They never considered banking cells before Suzie died last November. "She was nice," Mary Ann Daniels said. "But Smokey was special." What do you think? The Mail Tribune is conducting an informal survey about the ethics of cloning. Readers who wish to respond can e-mail answers to CLONING SMOKEY ">[email protected] or send opinions by postal mail to Cloning, Mail Tribune, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501. Please include name, city and contact number. Results may be published in the future. Should cloning of animals be illegal? Restricted? Would you consider cloning a beloved pet? Why or why not? How much would you be willing to pay for such a service? Does cloning animals raise issues different than those involved in cloning humans? If so, what are they? Should human cloning be prohibited? Why or why not? Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail CLONING SMOKEY ">[email protected] . 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