Cloning a Pet

* Re “Perpetual Pets, Via Cloning,” March 16: The individuals who want to clone their pets have a truly sad misunderstanding of the basic nature of life and death and are reducing what they think is love to a simple desire to replace an object for which they feel affection, something akin to trying to replace a broken, one-of-a-kind antique. And the companies taking advantage of this misguided desire should be ashamed and run out of business.

Not only can cloning not replicate the unique personality that makes each pet so special, but it’s totally unnecessary, considering the millions of unwanted cats and dogs that languish in city shelters all over the country, doomed for euthanasia if they aren’t adopted. I swear, this world gets sicker and more twisted by the day.

MICHAEL LASKAVY

Oak Park