A heartbroken couple are willing to pay a US pet cloning clinic almost £40,000 to bring their dead dog back to life after she was killed by a mystery driver.
Dominika Sojka, 34, and her partner Ian Clague, 62, lost their 10-month-old puppy Bijoux on June 29 after he escaped from the garden of their £1million home in Bournemouth and was hit by a car.
The unknown driver did not stop at the scene or call the police, which is the legal duty of any motorist who hits a dog under UK law.
An anonymous driver took Bijoux’s body to a nearby veterinarian. A man the couple believe was behind their dog’s death, given his refusal to make contact despite their pleas to staff.
It left the couple with a mix of loss and injustice, and many questions about what happened that fateful summer night with their beloved chow chow-husky mix, or Chowsky.
Dominika Sojka, 34 (centre) and her partner Ian Clague, 62, (left) lost their 10-month-old puppy Bijoux (right) on June 29 after it escaped from the garden of their valued Bournemouth home in a million pounds, and was hit by a car
Now the heartbroken couple are willing to pay US pet cloning clinic Gemini Genetics $50,000 (£38,536) to bring their dead dog back to life after she was killed by a mystery driver.
Following the tragedy, Ian and Dominika are asking all drivers to be aware of their legal duty to stop in place and call the police if they hit a dog.
Just days after the accident and while Bijoux’s body was at the vet, Dominika, a private jet racer, “wasn’t ready to say goodbye.”
She remembers: ‘It went away very quickly. I was looking for ways to preserve her, I was thinking about stuffing her, but then I thought I didn’t want her body to be disturbed in any way.
“So I thought, maybe I could clone her, which I thought wasn’t really possible, but when I looked it up I realized it was possible in America. I was like ‘wow.’
“So I googled to see if it could be done in the UK and found this company called Gemini Genetics. I contacted them and asked if there was any way to clone Bijoux.
‘They said yes, they could do it by taking Bijoux’s DNA, they would only need a small sample of skin.
“However, it was in the vet’s freezer, which they said was a problem because a frozen dog’s cells could be dead. They said they couldn’t guarantee it would work.
“But they managed to recover his cells and DNA, they frozen it at -197°C.”
Ian, owner and director of an engineering company, said: “They grow the cells to make sure they have a lot of cells and then they freeze them, to have a preserved sample, and you pay a certain amount for that.
“But the real cost is when the animal is cloned, and that happens in the US because it’s not legal in the UK.” But you can import your cloned dog once it is alive.
Following the tragedy, Ian and Dominika are asking all drivers to be aware of their legal duty to stop in place and call the police if they hit a dog.
Just days after the accident and while Bijoux’s body was at the vet, Dominika, a private jet racer, “wasn’t ready to say goodbye.”
“We met the founder of Gemini Genetics, and he introduced us to his two-year-old cloned dog and he was lively, bouncy and everything you’d expect.”
“They live as long as any other animal,” Dominika added.
Ian said: “We haven’t cloned her yet, she’s frozen at the moment.” It is quite expensive to revive her, around $50,000 (£40,000).
‘But at some point we could do that. We will wait until we have the funds together.
Dominika said: ‘It gives me hope. I know it won’t be exactly the same dog: it’s a twin. The colors will be the same, but the shape of the patches will most likely be different.
‘But the shape, everything else will be the same as Bijoux. Then, while there is still pain from death, she will return to us.’
Despite their investigations into Bijoux’s cloning, the accident itself was still very important to Dominika and Ian.
They were so desperate for answers that they hired a private pet detective to hunt down the driver.
But their investigations ultimately led to nothing and local police dropped the case.
Under UK law, a driver who hits a dog must stop and report the accident to the police; However, the same legal requirement does not apply if a cat is involved.
Dominika added: “She was so lovely, very adorable and loved other dogs.” She always ran up to us in the morning and greeted us by jumping on our bed.’
Ian said: ‘Bijoux really loved the woods. He loved to chase a hare, a rabbit or a squirrel, although he never caught any.
In a message to the unknown driver, Dominika said: ‘You ran over our dog. The least you can do is pick up the phone and call the police.
‘I have so many questions, but no answers. “It would really help with closure.”
Ian added: “If the driver had called the police at that time, we may never have had to go through all of this.”
Following the tragedy, Ian and Dominika are asking all drivers to be aware of their legal duty to stop in place and call the police if they hit a dog.
On Wednesday, animal welfare charity Blue Cross launched the Blue Cross Code, a new safety initiative encouraging drivers and pet owners to be more alert to risks on the road.
It is estimated that every year 80,000 dogs and 230,000 cats are hit by a car on UK roads.
Research by the charity reveals that the majority of UK drivers would break the law if they hit a dog with their vehicle.
The study showed that 86% of motorists would not call the police if they hurt a dog and there was no owner in sight, and that figure rose to 91% among young drivers aged 18 to 24.
Under UK law, a driver who hits a dog must stop and report the accident to the police; However, the same legal requirement does not apply if a cat is involved.
It is estimated that every year 80,000 dogs and 230,000 cats are hit by a car on UK roads.
