Nearly nine months ago Matthew Johnson introduced CBC Toronto to his beloved dog Woofie, a 20-year-old German Shepherd-Dingo mix who was on his last legs. <\/p>\n
At the time, the Newmarket man was on a mission to clone his pet, who he said saved his life when he was fighting a case of meningitis in 2016. <\/p>\n
Now, in a Canadianfirst,the cloning is complete, andas the original Woofie passed on, two new clones have entered Johnson's life. The entireprocess cost Johnson just under$90,000. <\/p>\n
\"When we were first introduced, [Woofie Junior] jumped up, barked at me and looked me dead in the eyes and I was like, 'Yep! That's Woofie,'\" said Johnson. <\/p>\n
Owner Matthew Johnson and one of the Woofie clones. (Grant Linton\/CBC) <\/p>\n
The cloning resulted in two pups, one named Woofie Juniorand the other Blondie. <\/p>\n
Theyhave been home for just two days but Johnson said he's already seeing hints of his old companion. <\/p>\n
\"I put Woofie's toys out, I saved them all ... [Woofie Junior]went for the exact ball that was Woofie's baby toy,\" said Johnson. <\/p>\n
Johnson said between the two, one looks more like the original Woofie and has shown more distinct signs of Woofie-likebehaviour than the other one, so he named the pups accordingly. <\/p>\n
\"It's crazy; like every marking is just the exact same,\" saidJohnson when talking about Woofie Junior. <\/p>\n
The whole process set Johnson back just under $90,000 (Grant Linton\/CBC) <\/p>\n
Johnson saysWoofie Jr. has the same slinky walk that theoriginal Woofie had, which was passed down from her Dingo ancestors. <\/p>\n
Johnson said WoofieJunior even cuddles up in bedin the same way the original Woofiedid when Johnsonwas fighting for his life with meningitislast year. <\/p>\n
The cloning was completed through a laboratory in Texas calledViaGen Pets. <\/p>\n
Woofie Junior and Blondie share a meal. (Grant Linton\/CBC) <\/p>\n
Johnson said after CBC Toronto first reported on his intentionto clone Woofie, he received some flackabout his choice, given the thousands of dogs in animal shelters all over Ontario. <\/p>\n
But he saidthis situation is different. <\/p>\n
\"This is about having a dog that was in line with me ... in unison ... it's about companionship.\" <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Continued here:<\/p>\n
Newmarket man clones beloved dog Woofie in a Canadian first that cost him $90K - CBC.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nearly nine months ago Matthew Johnson introduced CBC Toronto to his beloved dog Woofie, a 20-year-old German Shepherd-Dingo mix who was on his last legs. At the time, the Newmarket man was on a mission to clone his pet, who he said saved his life when he was fighting a case of meningitis in 2016. Now, in a Canadianfirst,the cloning is complete, andas the original Woofie passed on, two new clones have entered Johnson's life Continue reading