If Tom Brady’s new dog looks familiar, that’s because it has the same genetic makeup as his old pooch.
As the seven-time Super Bowl winner revealed in a press release for the biotech company Colossal Biosciences, his young dog Junie was cloned from his beloved Lua, a pitbull mix who passed away two years earlier.
‘I love my animals,’ Brady said in a press release obtained by People. ‘They mean the world to me and my family. 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.’
As a result, Brady and his three children got a ‘second chance with a clone of our beloved dog,’ the quarterback said in the press release.
DON'T MISS
Brady, along with his now-ex-wife Gisele Bundchen, adopted Lua in 2014, a beagle named Scooby in 2015, and a terrier named Fluffy in 2016. Lua passed away in 2023, shortly after the couple’s divorce. Brady also has a black pitbull mix named Onyx.
Reaction to Brady’s cloning experiment wasn’t favorable. Even a long-time fan like Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy felt obligated to call out the Fox Sports announcer: ‘I’m a dog guy and a Brady guy. This is weird as f***.’
Tom Brady is seen with his two dogs, including his new pooch, Junie (right), which is a clone
Tom Brady is seen enjoying a nice moment with his dog Lua, who would pass away in 2023
The press release also announced Colossal Biosciences acquisition of Viagen Pets and Equine, which have cloned dogs for the likes of Paris Hilton and Barbra Streisand in recent years.
And it’s not just singers and jocks getting their pets cloned. Argentina’s president Javier Milei admitting to having his own dog, Conan, cloned no fewer than five times.
Prices for cloning pets can vary from $50,000 to $85,000, so it’s obviously not for everyone. And given that roughly 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized in the United States each year, mostly due to overcrowding, many critics urged others against trying to clone their animals.
‘As much as I wish I could’ve cloned all my pets, I’m telling you right now Tom this is weird get out of this investment and get in on a pet adoption center,’ one person pleaded on X.
‘Rich People activity,’ another wrote about Brady’s decision.
One fan joked Brady ‘cloned himself in 2000’ as he was embarking on his decorated NFL career with the New England Patriots.
Many others referenced Michael Crichton’s famed 1990 book about the dangers of cloning dinosaurs.
‘Bro got a Super Bowl ring and a Jurassic Park starter kit,’ one fan joked of Brady.
Tom Brady, who was drafted by the Montreal Expos, takes his stance alongside Lua
Colossal Biosciences, which counts Brady as an investor, previously made news back in the spring when the company claimed to revive dire wolves after an estimated 10,000 years of extinction. The all-white puppies were said to be genetically engineered grey wolves with some dire wolf traits.
‘For the first time in human history, Colossal successfully restored a once-eradicated species through the science of de-extinction,’ the company stated on its website.
The company also hopes to resurrect the extinct woolly mammoth by the year 2027.
As much as Brady loves canines, his confusing ‘kick the dog’ statement angered Fox viewers back in September.
The offending remark was delivered during the Bears’ upset of the visiting Cowboys in Chicago, where Dallas’ George Pickens was seen angrily slamming his helmet down on the sidelines.
‘And Picks is not happy, yeah, those moments can be… like the dog at home,’ Brady said during the Fox broadcast. ‘Kick the dog, throw the helmet, whatever it takes.’
Brady bid farewell to the family dog, Lua, back in 2023. They now have at least two dogs
Tom Brady’s children say ‘goodbye’ to their beloved dog Lua back in 2023
Brady adopted Lua (left) with his now-ex-wife Gisele Bundchen (right) in 2014 and another dog, Fluffy (center), in 2016. Lua passed away in 2023, shortly after the couple’s divorce
Brady and two of his children are seen holding dogs at a local shelter in this social media pic
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) did not accuse Brady of encouraging animal abuse, but did ask the 48-year-old father of three to be more mindful.
‘PETA encourages Brady to remember that millions of people listen to him, that the language we use can encourage kindness or violence towards animals, and that we should never normalize taking our frustration out on a beloved companion,’ read the group’s statement.
But Brady faced much more anger online, where critics accused him of encouraging animal abuse.
‘Tom Brady just promoted animal abuse on national television,’ read one angry comment on X.
