I WANT A DOG, JUST LIKE THE DOG . . .

Firm hails dog clone breakthrough

A South Korean firm says cloning pets could become cheaper in future thanks to a new technique it has developed.

RNL Bio said it had successfully cloned two puppies from a beagle using stem cells from the dog's fat tissue.

The firm said its new technique had more than doubled the success rate of the current method of cloning.

There has been no independent confirmation of the claim, but South Korea has become a world leader in the lucrative field of cloning pets.

Last year, RNL Bio claimed to have produced the world's first commercially-cloned dog, a pitbull terrier for a woman in the US.

In recent days, a couple in Florida received a puppy cloned in South Korea from their dead pet at a cost of $155,000.

Florida couple clones beloved dog for $155,000

Every dog has his day, but Sir Lancelot -- or at least his carbon copy -- has a second one.

A Boca Raton, Florida, couple paid a California firm $155,000 to clone their beloved Labrador retriever, who died from cancer a year ago. The clone, a 10-week-old puppy dubbed Lancey, was hand-delivered to them earlier this week by Lou Hawthorne, chairman of BioArts International, a biotechnology company.

"One minute with Lancey and you know he's special. He's both extremely aware and very sweet," Hawthorne said in a BioArts statement.

Edgar and Nina Otto said they began thinking about cloning Sir Lancelot about five years ago.

"I said 'Well, you know, it wouldn't hurt to have his DNA frozen,' and that's what we did," Nina Otto told CNN affiliate WPBF.

The Ottos were one of five families to bid and win a BioArts auction for a chance to clone their family dog, according to a BioArts statement. Lancey is the world's first commercially cloned dog, the company said; the Ottos are the first of six current clients to receive their clone.