Tom Brady reveals his dog is a clone of his pet that died in 2023
By: Brenna Cooper
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The former NFL star loved his dog so much he decided to create a second one
Ex-NFL star Tom Brady has revealed his dog Junie is a clone of his previous pet Lua who died in 2023, created with biotech company Colossal Biosciences.
For most of us, losing a beloved family pet is just a painful part of life.
However, for celebrities and the uber rich, losing the family cat or dog is no longer the painful inevitability it once was, as several stars have been able to create a new version of their four-legged friend thanks to the advancements in genetic science.
Brady revealed he was the latest celebrity to take advantage of this technology, confirming yesterday (4 November) that his pup Junie is a clone of previous family dog Lua.
Lua, a pit bull mix the retired NFL star shared with ex-wife Gisele Bundchen, passed away in December 2023. However, Brady was able to collect a sample of the dog's genetic material prior to her death and create his new pet Junie.
Brady confirmed that he'd cloned family pet Lua (pictured) to create new dog Junie (Instagram/@tombrady)
"I love my animals. They mean the world to me and my family," Brady said in a statement given to PEOPLE, going on to explain that he'd collaborated with biotech company Colossal Biosciences to create the dog.
"A few years ago, I worked with Colossal and leveraged their non-invasive cloning technology through a simple blood draw of our family's elderly dog before she passed."
The 48-year-old, who is an investor in Colossal Biosciences, said that Junie had allowed his family a 'second chance with a clone of our beloved dog'.
He went on to add that he was 'excited how Colossal and Viagen's tech together can help both families losing their beloved pets while helping to save endangered species'.
Brady's announcement coincided with the news that Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company which wants to 'de-extinct' various animal species, had acquired the company Viagen Pets and Equine. A Texas-based genetic preservation company, Viagen has previously cloned pets for other celebrities.
In 2018, singer Barbra Streisand revealed she'd worked with the company to create two puppies which were clones of her previous dog Samantha.
Tom Brady worked with biotech company Colossal Biosciences and Viagen Pets and Equine (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Viagen also confirmed they'd cloned two puppies for Paris Hilton after her dog Diamond Baby went missing in 2022.
Meanwhile, Colossal Biosciences is best known as being the company who claimed to have brought the dire wolf back from extinction earlier this year.
The birth of the puppies, named Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi, was announced back in April and were created through genetic edits made to dire wolf genomes retrieved from fossils. These embryos were then placed in surrogate dogs, which are said to share '99.5 percent of their DNA' with the extinct species.
Featured Image Credit: Ron Jenkins/Getty Image
Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.
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Had I known such a thing was available (although it was decades ago) I would have seriously considered it for my 17-year cat buddy, Fidget.
Do you have a spare 50,000 dollars ?
Well, that COULD have been a good idea. At least I have photos.
Brady had a stunning career - I used to enjoy watching the American football games on TV. They seemed more exciting than the Canadian ones.