Tom Brady has revealed that Junie, his dog, is a clone of Lua, the family’s late dog. The announcement came in a statement released by Colossal Biosciences, where Brady is an investor. Brady said a blood sample was taken from Lua before she died; the public reporting does not detail Junie’s exact laboratory process.
What Tom Brady said about Junie
Brady described the process in a statement reproduced by CBS News: “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.” This is a statement attributed to Brady, not a transcript of an interview or independent technical verification of the method used for Junie.
The Guardian reported that Brady called Junie “a second chance with a clone of our beloved dog.” ESPN also reported the announcement and Brady’s connection to Colossal.
Who was Lua?
Lua was the family’s dog, described in Good Morning America’s report as a pit bull mix. She died in December 2023. Reports say the sample used for cloning was collected before her death, but do not establish the exact collection date or how the sample was handled.
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How dog cloning generally works
Junie’s specific laboratory workflow has not been established in the public accounts cited here. Brady’s statement mentions a blood draw. General process descriptions from ViaGen, a commercial cloning provider, should not be mistaken for confirmation of the steps used in Junie’s case.
ViaGen says its general process starts with a tissue sample. Cells are cultured and frozen for preservation; when cloning proceeds, a donor cell is used with an egg cell to create an embryo, which is transferred to a surrogate. The company says gestation and nursing periods are similar to those in ordinary dog breeding. Those are ViaGen’s descriptions of its service, not independently verified details about Junie.
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Colossal has also described blood-derived cell work for a separate dire wolf project, but that does not establish Junie’s protocol. The company’s account of another project is not evidence that the same laboratory method was used for Brady’s dog.
Does a cloned dog have the same personality?
No. Cloning can produce an animal with the donor’s genetic identity, born later; it does not transfer the donor’s memories or learned behavior, and it cannot guarantee an identical personality. ViaGen describes a clone as a genetic twin born at a later date and says those individual traits and experiences are not copied. Junie is a separate dog with her own life and behavior, even if she resembles Lua.
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How much does dog cloning cost?
ViaGen’s FAQ listed dog cloning for $50,000 and genetic preservation for $1,600 when accessed on September 30, 2026. The provider says its posted prices are subject to change. These figures describe ViaGen’s published prices; no report cited here says what Brady paid or establishes that ViaGen performed Junie’s cloning.
The sources cited here do not establish a Junie-specific success rate or independent welfare outcomes for the procedure. Provider descriptions and posted prices should be read as the company’s own information, not as independent assessments.
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