No matter how you feel about the issue of cloning, here's a story you're likely to find uplifting.
On Wednesday in Los Angeles, a former Canadian police officer whose German Shepherd Dog helped locate survivors trapped in the rubble after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was formally given his beloved companion's descendants - all five of them.
The puppies were cloned after James Symington won a contest organized by BioArts International, a startup based near San Francisco that focuses on animal reproduction, human genomics and stem-cell industries.
Symington and his dog Trakr were among the first K-9 search-and-rescue teams to arrive in New York following the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. Trakr worked virtually nonstop for 48 hours and found the last human survivor at Ground Zero. He died in April.
Symington (pictured above with his pups) entered BioArts' competition to find the world's most "cloneworthy" dog and was presented the puppies - named Trustt, Valor, Prodigy, Solace and Déjà vu - in L.A.
Although he's aware that cloning is full of ethical questions, Symington said he hopes the pups will follow Trakr's lead and become search-and-rescue dogs.
"I respect that cloning's not for everyone," he said. "But there are few dogs that are born with extraordinary abilities, and Trakr was one of those dogs. I look forward to the day that these puppies can follow in Trakr's footsteps and play an important role in other rescues, like Trakr did."
If you're considering cloning your pet, be aware: It's expensive. The average cost is $140,000 per dog.
