For dogs,while there is time.

People come to us for different reasons. Some have a working or show dog whose line matters to a breeding programme. Some have a companion of unusual temperament, or a breed that is rare in the region. Many simply know that the bond they have with this animal is not one they expect to repeat, and they want to keep a choice open that would otherwise close with the dog's life. We do not ask anyone to justify it. We ask only that the decision is made with clear information.

Preservation means growing a living cell line from a small skin biopsy and freezing it at −196 °C in two cities. It does not commit you to anything. A banked line can later be used for genetic testing, for the preparation of regenerative therapies prescribed by your veterinarian, or for cloning. It can also simply stay in the vault. Many of the lines we hold will never be used, and that is a perfectly good outcome.

The best time to bank is when the dog is healthy and between about one and ten years old. Cells from younger animals grow faster and more reliably, and a planned biopsy at a clinic is calmer for everyone than an urgent collection. That said, we bank lines from older dogs every month, and we can often grow a line from tissue collected shortly after death – see Urgent.

A dog cloned from a banked line is a genetic twin: a new puppy with the same nuclear DNA, born to a surrogate mother, years after its donor. Dogs have been cloned from adult cells since 2005, and the method is now well established. What cloning cannot do is reproduce a life. The twin will not remember its donor's home or family, and its character will be shaped by its own upbringing. Coat markings, especially in patterned breeds, can differ.¹

Genetic testing, by contrast, is useful for almost every dog. From the same banked line we can read breed-associated inherited conditions for which published markers exist, confirm parentage, and give a DNA identity profile. Results are a guide for your veterinarian and for breeding decisions, not a diagnosis.

The line itself is ready in about three weeks. If you later decide to continue, a programme usually takes six to twelve months from the start of nuclear transfer to birth, and a further eight weeks before the puppy comes home. We state ranges because pregnancy rates vary, and we tell you at each stage what has happened.

Salukis and other sighthounds are among the dogs we see most often in the Gulf, valued for hunting heritage and for their gentleness at home. Their fine skin heals quickly after a biopsy. For brachycephalic breeds such as bulldogs and pugs, we prefer a clinic collection so that the veterinarian can manage any sedation carefully. Giant breeds age earlier; we suggest banking before the age of six.

Where a breed has well-documented inherited conditions – hip dysplasia in larger breeds, for example, or specific eye and heart conditions – genetic testing from the bank can inform breeding decisions without a second sample.