The Korea Customs Service reported that seven cloned puppies named Toppy ("Tomorrow's puppy") were born in late 2007 to three surrogate mothers under a state-funded project. Lee Byung-Chun who managed to clone the Toppies played a key role in cloning a three year old Afghan Hound. The cost of cloning the Toppies was approximately 301,205 dollar. Lee Byung-Chun used the nuclei of somatic cells from a sniffer Golden Retriever, Chase, to clone the puppies. The project manager Lim Jae-Yong said that it would be easier to train sniffer cloned dogs than ordinary canines. The Toppies have passed the first round of tests for behavourial patterns and genetic qualities, and they will report for duty in June this year after completing a second round of tests.
Indeed, successful cloning of dogs show that the use of genetics in technology is essential. However, with regards to the issue of cloning humans and other organisms, ethical issues are always involved.
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