Calif. company to clone 9/11 canine hero

The 9/11 rescue effort marked the end of policing for the dog and his master.

Toronto Globe and Mail

Poor old Trakr.

A celebrated hero, the retired Halifax, Nova Scotia, police dog can no longer use the hind legs that pushed him through the ruins of the World Trade Center as he sniffed for survivors. His hearing has faded and, at 15, his dog days seemed numbered — until science gave him a second chance at life.

A San Francisco genetics company has selected the German shepherd to be one of the world’s first commercially cloned pets after his master — a former Canadian police officer now pursuing an acting career in Los Angeles — won an essay contest with a futuristic prize.

The company, BioArts, will ship Trakr’s DNA sample to the lab of its South Korean partner this month, and Trakr’s double should be nipping at his tail by the end of the year.

“If he shows even 70 percent of what Trakr had as far as skills, intuition and courage — then without question I’m going to dust off my search-and-rescue gear and we’ll go back to work,” said James Symington, 42, who learned June 29 that he’ll soon have a copy of his teammate and best friend.

While cloning may sound sensible to any bereaved pet owner, the race to make a doggie version of Dolly the sheep has attracted its share of controversy. That includes a patent dispute involving BioArts and questions about the long-term health of cloned animals.

And while pet owners may soon be able to drop a small fortune for a facsimile of Fido, medical ethicists say there are no guarantees that Fido II’s personality will match his friendly, loyal predecessor.

“The same dog can be a loving pet or a brutal killer depending on how it’s raised,” says Arthur Schafer, director of the University of Manitoba’s Center for Professional and Applied Ethics. “If the demand for cloning is coming from wealthy pet owners, I think they’re in for disappointment. The technology is in its very early days.”

The conjoined careers of Trakr and Symington were launched in 1995, when Trakr arrived from Czechoslovakia and helped Symington start Halifax’s first canine police unit.

The pair spent the next six years sniffing out drugs, bad guys and the odd missing person.

When the hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center on 9/11, the pair hopped in a car and drove to ground zero.

Trakr played a role in locating the last person found alive in the ruins, Symington said, and was given a humanitarian award and a kiss from anthropologist Jane Goodall for his efforts.

But 9/11 marked the end of policing for dog and owner. Symington was suspended in the fall of 2001 for his rescue efforts, as he was off work on sick leave at the time.

The police department launched a criminal investigation when he returned to Halifax, and at one point considered charging him with fraud.

The investigation was eventually dropped, but Symington was fired in 2005. A series of legal battles followed, with Symington trying to sue the police force and its union.

Since 2003, Symington and his wife, Angeline McCarthy, have been living in Los Angeles, where Symington is pursuing acting and also shelters dogs in need.

Trakr, now disabled because of a neurological condition, is spending his retirement watching television and rolling down the beach with the help of a doggie wheelchair, Symington said.

In May, Symington was watching the news when he heard about BioArt’s Golden Clone Giveaway essay contest, which ended on June 24.

“Once in a lifetime,” Symington wrote, “a dog comes along that not only captures the hearts of all he touches but also plays a pivotal role in history.”

Lou Hawthorne, founder of BioArts, said the company received more than 200 essays, but Trakr was the clear winner because of his professional achievements.