Cloned Dog Reproduces of the Day

When Edgar and Nina Otto's beloved golden Labrador retriever Sir Lancelot died four years ago from cancer, the couple had him cloned from DNA they had had cryogenically frozen years earlier. The $155,000 procedure, which took place in South Korea, was a smash, and the Ottos created a website dedicated to the Lancelots, Labraclonology: Future Pups from the Past, where they write:

Lancey Encore the clone, has the same behavior, the same movements and has all of the same traits of his predecessor. That part we did not expect. Lancelot, our PRINCE CHARMING had finally come home.

Now, 3-year-old Lancelot Encore has fathered a litter of eight puppies -- Star, Victory, Glory, Patriot, America, Independence, Allegiance, and Liberty, obviously born on July 4. The Ottos will keep only one pup because "I don't want to flood my house with dogs,'' Nina Otto says. "We really wanted our dog back and now we have his babies. Another generation of Lanceys. If any of them crosses their paws, I will be thrilled out of my mind." [death+taxes]