Tom Brady Explains Why He Cloned His Beloved Dog

In a surprising revelation, NFL legend Tom Brady shared that his new dog, Junie, is in fact a clone of his late pet Lua, thanks to advances in biotechnology. This unusual step was made possible through a partnership with Colossal Biosciences, a company Brady has invested in and which recently acquired the renowned animal cloning firm Viagen Pets and Equine. Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion and co-owner of Birmingham City FC, revealed that after Lua—a brown pit bull mix adopted with former wife Gisele Bündchen—passed away in December 2023, he and his family turned to Colossal to create Junie using a blood sample collected before Lua’s death. In his statement, Brady emphasized, “I love my animals. 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.” He added that Colossal’s collaboration with Viagen “gave my family a second chance with a clone of our beloved dog,” and he is “excited how Colossal and Viagen’s tech together can help both families losing their beloved pets while helping to save endangered species.” Junie closely resembles Lua in appearance, sharing the same coloring and markings, but experts and critics point out that cloned pets often have different personalities than the originals. The ethics and emotional implications of such technology have sparked debate among pet owners and the public. Some, including commentators at The Guardian, have questioned whether cloning pets is a healthy way to cope with grief, highlighting that the process may hinder true emotional closure. Colossal Biosciences, founded in 2021, has drawn attention for its ambitious “de-extinction” projects, including efforts to revive the woolly mammoth and dodo bird. Its acquisition of Viagen—an industry leader that has cloned 15 species, including dogs, cats, horses, and even endangered animals like the black-footed ferret—marks a significant expansion in both pet cloning and conservation initiatives. Viagen, which holds technology licenses from the Roslin Institute (creators of Dolly the Sheep), has previously cloned pets for celebrities such as Barbra Streisand and Paris Hilton. The cost of cloning a dog through Viagen typically ranges from $50,000 to $85,000. Brady’s case has brought the topic of pet cloning to mainstream attention, raising questions about the boundaries of biotechnology, the commercialization of grief, and the potential for these techniques to aid in species conservation. While some celebrate the possibility of reuniting with a lost pet, others caution against blurring the lines between science, ethics, and genuine emotional healing. Ultimately, for Brady, Junie is “not a scientific experiment, but part of our family”—a testament to how technology and sentiment can intersect in unexpected ways.