Clone zone

Do you know what these dogs have in common?

They're all the same dog. They're clones. And even have the same name: Toppy, which is a portmanteau of tomorrow and puppy. They were, what, born? hatched? developed? in Korea and will be used to sniff out drugs.

The seven new cloned male dogs are all healthy, though one was sent to a university laboratory a few days ago for a minor foot injury it received during training, according to training center head Lim Jae-ryoung.

"They have a superior nature. They are active and excel in accepting the training," said Kim Nak-seung, a trainer at the Customs Service-affiliated dog training center.

In February, all seven dogs passed a behavior test aimed at finding whether they are genetically qualified to work as sniffing dogs. Only 10 percent to 15 percent of naturally born dogs typically pass the test.

This, of course, raises all sorts of weird ethical issues. Like, what about all those dogs in shelters being put down because there aren't enough homes for them? And if they can clone dogs, what's next? Journalists?

The whole thing gives me a headache. It also makes me wonder what would happen if Rocket were cloned. I think it would look something like this. Shoot me now