In approaching this case, we should recall 2 famous lines usually attributed to the great 19th century showman, P.T. Barnum: “First,” said Barnum, “if one wants to get rich, one should find a need and fill it.” Second, attributed to Barnum, but actually uttered by an arch-competitor, David Hannum, is the claim, “there is a sucker born every minute.” These 2 claims, taken together, suggest an algorithm for the unscrupulous: fill the needs — or perceived needs — of “suckers.”
Unfortunately, some scientists seem to be guided by this algorithm when they offer (for a sizable sum) to bank DNA taken from a person's beloved dog, cat, or horse, until such time that cloning technology is perfected, and then to clone that animal. Clearly, most people willing to put money into such schemes believe that they will get a complete replication of their beloved pet, physically and behaviorally. This is manifestly not the case, and any scientist working in the area knows it!
When cloning an animal (or a person), assuming all goes well, one ends up with another creature who is genetically identical but not a perfect replicate. Why not? Because all organisms are, in the end, products of not only genetics and heredity, but also of the environmental factors that shape this hereditary material. Anyone who doubts this should recall natural clones — human or animal — namely, identical twins. Though often similar in many ways, such twins can be worlds apart in temperament and behavior. Indeed, they may not even look the same, since environmental influence on genes begins in utero.
It would be very interesting to see what would happen to a clone placed in the identical environment as the organism from which it was cloned. But this, of course, is impossible. Imagine you are attempting to clone your beloved poodle, Fifi, who has died at age 10. The environment in your home is different in innumerable ways from what it was 10 years ago. The children may have left home, or you may now have children you did not have then. You can no longer jog. You have new friends. You have a new cat. Any and all these variables can affect Fifi's development in unpredictable ways, as can having a different mother.
So, one must conclude that anyone playing to a person's desire to replicate his or her animal by cloning is someone following Barnum, not sound morality. And it appears that the person offering the cloning to the veterinarian's client, in this case, falls solidly into the scoundrel category. In addition to all that we have discussed, the variety of samples requested is clearly unnecessary. After all, all cells are totipotent, and Dolly the sheep was cloned from mammary tissue. The request for the multiplicity of cells thus appears to be smoke and mirrors — true Barnum. Indeed, some people cloning cows are using only somatic cells from milk!
Were I the veterinarian, I would explain all the information discussed above to the client and advise her that she is chasing a will-o'-the-wisp. If she is happy with the mare, I would urge her to buy others from the same lineage. I certainly would not do the procedure.