The former American football star Tom Brady disclosed on Tuesday that his pet dog is actually a genetic duplicate of a deceased canine companion.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion and current Fox Sports broadcaster confirmed that his dog Junie was created through cloning technology from his late pit bull mix, Lua.
Brady made this surprising announcement through a statement released by Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based biotechnology firm in which he holds an investment stake.
The revelation emerged on the same day the company unveiled its acquisition of Viagen Pets and Equine, marking the venture capital-backed start-up's first significant corporate purchase.
Tom Brady holds an investment stake in Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based biotechnology firm
|GETTY
The NFL legend arranged for veterinary professionals to collect a blood sample from his elderly pet before her death in December 2023.
Brady had originally adopted the pit bull mix alongside his former spouse, the Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, prior to their separation in 2022.
"I love my animals. They mean the world to me and my family," Brady stated through the company announcement.
"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 biotechnology firm subsequently delivered what Brady described as a "second chance" with their cherished pet, producing Junie within several months of the original animal's passing.
Tom Brady revealed he has cloned his dog
|The announcement coincided with Colossal's strategic purchase of another animal cloning enterprise, marking a significant expansion for the company reportedly valued at £8 billion.
Brady expressed enthusiasm about the combined technological capabilities of both firms.
"I am excited how Colossal and Viagen's tech together can help both families losing their beloved pets while helping to save endangered species," the Birmingham City co-owner stated.
The acquisition brings together Colossal's ambitious de-extinction goals with Viagen's established pet cloning services.
Colossal's website proclaims its mission to "fix" extinction, with aspirations ranging from reviving woolly mammoths to advancing genetic healing technologies.
The company aims to "reawaken the lost wilds of Earth" through combining genetic science with commercial discovery.
Viagen, which has provided cloning services to celebrities including Barbra Streisand and Paris Hilton, typically charges between £40,000 and £67,000 for pet duplication.
Tom Brady's dog Lua died in 2023
|The company possesses technology licences from Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, the facility that created Dolly the Sheep in 1996, marking the world's first successfully cloned mammal.
Colossal has pursued more controversial ventures, including claims of birthing three dire wolf pups in late 2024 using genetic material from ancient specimens.
The company stated it employed CRISPR gene-editing technology on grey wolf cells after analysing DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and 72,000-year-old skull.
However, several conservation organisations, including the International Union for Conservation of Nature, have challenged these assertions about successfully reviving the species that became extinct over 12,500 years ago.