26 March 28 • 2019
jn

Doggie Double

Monni Must clones late daughter’
s beloved pet, 
creating exact DNA match.

S

he turned 1 in November with 
little fanfare. There was no 
official celebration for Gunni, 
a beautiful black Labrador with 
soulful eyes, owned by photogra-
pher Monni Must. But the puppy 
posed for a portrait wearing a party 
hat — and her birthday was signifi-
cant in more ways than one.
“She is just a delight,” Must says. 
“She’
s a bundle of monster energy 
who has filled my life and house 
with love and smiles.”
Gunni is a clone — an exact 
DNA match — to a nearly 15-year-
old black lab named Billy who 
belonged to Must’
s late daughter, 
Miya. In 2007, at age 28, Miya took 
her own life. Following the suicide, 
Monni adopted Billy, who has been 
a loyal and loving companion for 
more than a decade.
“Billy is a unique dog,” Must 
explains. “Having Billy is like hav-
ing part of Miya. I knew that if I 
lost Billy, it would be like losing 
Miya again. That would be devas-
tating to me.”
Must says the idea of cloning 
Billy popped into her head one day 
and she decided to investigate. She 
found the company PerPETuate, 
which calls itself “the world’
s first 
and foremost pet genetic preser-
vation company,” and worked with 
them to produce a clone.
“Genetic preservation begins 
with the painless collection of tis-

sue by a veterinarian,” according to 
PerPETuate’
s website. “These tissue 
samples are then shipped to [our] 
laboratory in Massachusetts where 
they are processed.”
From there, the company says 
the desired cells are identified 
and placed in a controlled growth 
environment until “a cell line of a 
million or more cells is achieved.” 
Those cells are used to create an 
embryo containing the cloned 
animal’
s DNA. It’
s a procedure 
that dates back to 1996, when 
the famous clone Dolly the sheep 
was born. Singer Barbra Streisand 
reportedly cloned her dog last year 
at a cost of $50,000.
“[Cloning a pet] is not for every-
body,” Must acknowledges. “But, it’
s 
for me.”
Gunni was born in November 
2017 and came home to Michigan 
last January. Must named her after 
the town of Gunnison, Colo., where 
Miya lived. She says the puppy’
s 
personality and mannerisms are 
similar to the older dog but, most 
importantly, Must says Gunni has 
reduced the anxiety she was feeling 
as Billy was growing older and has 
brought a renewed sense of peace 
and joy.
“[Cloning Billy] is one of the 
best decisions I’
ve made,” she says. 
“I feel much more settled and 
grounded now. It has given me a 
new lease on life.” ■ 

jews d
in 
the

ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Monni Must with the 

cloned Gunni and the 

original 
Billy

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