New Technology Allows Pet Owners To Clone Their Furry Friends

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Imagine never having to say 'goodbye' to your childhood pet or furry companion?

Barbra Streisand's dog is living on through clones.

They're our constant four-legged companions, but sadly they don't live forever. However, for the right price, they can make a comeback as a clone.

Streisand revealed in the latest issue of Variety magazine she cloned her dog, Samantha, a Coton du Tulear, after it passed away last year.

"My first reaction is A, I love dogs; B, she's got the money and she can spend it however she wants, and I completely understand wanting to maintain the tie to your dog," one dog owner said.

Viagen is a Texas-based cloning company that offers the service to pet owners.

"The dog that you're going to clone is not going to be a Frankenstein. It's just a normal dog, like any other dog," spokesperson Melain Rodriguez said.

A few skin samples are collected from the pet you want to clone. Then, a surrogate dog is chosen to carry the embryo.

"From that little skin sample, we culture millions and millions of cells. And these are cells that contain the pets' complete DNA," said Rodriguez.

The result is a genetic twin, or in Streisand's case, a set of two – Miss Scarlet and Miss Violet.

It's not cheap if you want to clone your furry best friend -- it costs about $50,000.

"Well that's a lot, but you can't put a price on love," said one dog owner.

"If I had $50,000 to spend, I would do it in a second," another added.

But not all dog owners agree.

"Dogs are so expensive already, so I couldn't imagine doing that," one woman said. "No way."

Even though the genetic makeup would be the same, the personality would likely be a little different from the original.

"It's not the same dog. But just to think that you have the essence of your dog would be worth every penny," said one man.

Others say rescuing a dog in need of a home is priceless.

Viagen says to clone your cat, the cost is half the price at $25,000.