Wolfcom Enterprises (his is the first name listed of "Wolfcom's Collective") runs Jeunesse, based in L.A. and Bangkok, which claims to use stem cell technology (though its Luminesce "contains no Actual Stems cells, No human tissue") to make "smoother younger skin." Oh, and there is a "once in a lifetime opportunity to create long term wealth" by becoming a distributor: meet at Denny's in Rosemead every Tuesday. (Perhaps not coincidentally, RNL Bio has been in the skin-cream business, too.) Googling around also turns up an apparent 2009 effort to market the "Magicjack telephone gizmo" in Bangkok.

Naturally, when Onruang decided to have his dogs cloned, he started yet another website: My Friend Again. (If the name sounds familiar, you may be thinking of one of Lou Hawthorne's efforts, Best Friends Again.) This one is "100% free" and encourages people to contact Viagen for a biopsy kit and instructions about storing cells. The 800 number is the same as that for Wolfcom Enterprises, but a different extension.

None of this is to say that Onruang is not genuine in his affection for the dogs, one of which seems to be shown in the promo video for Hollywood Paintball. Wolfie died two years ago, and clones (all to be called Wolfie, according to KTLA, rather like George Foreman's sons) are due in six months, with clones of Bubble, who died in 2007, to follow. He would love them "to be reincarnated" but is aware that they may be different. And, yes, he'd love to clone himself:

"If I had an opportunity to clone myself, I'd do it right now," Onruang says. "Because it's me... I'm raising myself. I already know exactly my strengths and weaknesses. This person is gonna be the new and improved me, and would live the life I've always wanted to live."

Let's just say that he fits right in to the cloning circus that John Woestendiek described in his book, Dog, Inc., which I reviewed in January.

Dog cloning is a terrible idea. The Humane Society of the United States and the American Anti-Vivisection Society issued a report in 2008, Buyers Beware: Pet Cloning Is NOT for Pet Lovers [pdf], which summarizes the stark reality of how the process harms animals. It's very inefficient, most clones don't make it to birth — some even kill their surrogate mothers, all of whom undergo surgery — and those that do frequently die in pain shortly afterwards; some scientists suggest that no clones are entirely healthy. And those that seem to be healthy may not really resemble their genetic forebear very closely.

Since then, the primary publicist for this failed business has quit, for a variety of practical and ethical reasons. The remaining commercial pet cloner, RNL Bio, has been hit by scandal involving unauthorized stem cell treatments, and seems most interested in using dogs for research on human diseases.

There seems to be a deep yearning to fill the void left by the death of a beloved pet with something very similar, a yearning so deep that for some people it overrides their conscious understanding. Onruang knows that the puppies he may get this fall will not be the same as his beloved Wolfie, yet still he clings to the hope that they will be. That's touchingly human, yet profoundly foolish.

We really need to protect people in their grief from themselves, and especially to protect the animals that may be harmed in the process. Pet cloning should not be allowed.