Copyright New York Daily News
Tom Brady has revealed that his dog Junie is a clone of his late pet Lua, who died in 2023. The former superstar quarterback-turned-sports commentator shared the news on Tuesday about his new pitbull mix being a clone of Lua, who was adopted in 2014 by Brady and his then-wife, Gisele Bündchen. Lua passed away a year after the couple’s divorce was finalized in 2022. Texas-based biotech startup, Colossal Biosciences, was behind the procedure, Brady said. Brady is an investor in the company, which also announced on Tuesday its acquisition of Viagen Pets & Equine — the world’s leading animal cloning firm, known for creating doubles of Paris Hilton’s dog Diamond and Barbra Streisand’s pup Samantha. “I love my animals,” Brady said in a statement obtained by the Daily News on Tuesday. “They mean the world to me and my family.” The 48-year-old, seven-time Super Bowl champ said he worked with Colossal to leverage their “non-invasive cloning technology through a simple blood draw” prior to elderly Lua’s passing. “In a few short months, Colossal gave my family a second chance with a clone of our beloved dog,” Brady continued. “I am excited how Colossal and Viagen’s tech together can help both families losing their beloved pets while helping to save endangered species.”
