Tom Brady says Junie is a clone of his late dog Lua

Tom Brady on Tuesday revealed that his current dog, Junie, is a genetic clone of his late pit bull mix Lua, saying the animal was recreated using a blood sample taken before Lua’s death in December 2023. The cloning was performed by Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based biotechnology firm in which Brady is an investor, through its pet division following the company’s recent acquisition of Viagen Pets and Equine.

Brady said in a statement released by Colossal that he had “leveraged their noninvasive cloning technology through a simple blood draw” and that the process gave his family “a second chance with a clone of our beloved dog.” He added that he loves his animals and that they mean the world to his family. Colossal announced the acquisition of Viagen at the same time it publicized Brady’s statement and positioned the combined operation as a provider of both pet cloning services and broader conservation efforts.

Colossal has attracted attention for projects that apply gene editing and cloning to large-scale revival efforts, including work aimed at reviving traits of the extinct dire wolf and other species. Viagen, founded in 2002, has a longer track record in commercial animal...