Guinea Pig Attractions Around the Word: Berkley 510 Skateboarding Guinea Pig Mural

We've highlighted many guinea pig attractions around the world, but let's not forgot that our own country is also part of the world, and has its' own guinea pig attractions worth highlighting!

At 510 Skateboarding in Berkley, California, there was a controversy over a mural back in 2009. They had a 16 foot tall mural on the side of their business that went against the local signage laws because it included their name. An article in Berkleyside shows this mural of a guinea pig as the mural in question, although we're a little confused since the original article said it was a "rainbow mural" (possibly just meaning the colorful background?) and had the business name's name on the mural, which we didn't see until we saw the little"510" patch on the sleeve. (Is that what all the fuss was about?) Here it is:

Photo from Berkleyside (Source); Photographer: Rannie Turingan.

After seeing how old this story was and all the controversy, we figured that the mural was probably gone. However, thanks to Google Street view, we found out that it is still there:

Still there as of April 2017!

Any humans live in or near Berkeley? Go check it out and get your picture taken in front of this super-cool mural!

Guinea Pig Cuddle Cloning

We recently did a post on guinea pig cloning--something that's not quite available yet for guinea pigs, but is available for dogs and cats, so it's probably not too far off in the future. Until then, there is another option for those who can't wait: a guinea pig Cuddle Clone! As their website explains:

"We make soft, adorable, customized stuffed-animal versions of people’s pets called Cuddle Clones. All you have to do is submit at least one picture (although several are preferred) and choose a few customization options (eye color, ear position, tail position) and we’ll send you your very own Cuddle Clone."

Unlike ViaGen Pets, Cuddle Clone does offer a guinea pig "cloning" option:

Here is Bear and his Cuddle Clone.

Gypsea & Cuddle Clone.

Like real cloning. Cuddle Cloning seems expensive. (At least, we think it is. Even after all this time, it's hard to wrap our minds around that money stuff that humans care so much about.) The regular price for a Cuddle Clone is $249, although they're current having a limited summer sale of $149 for a guinea pig. Even though this is a lot less than the $25,000-$50,000 that actual cloning costs, we still don't think our humans will go for it. It's always an option for the future, though, since you just need pictures rather than genetic samples!

Guinea Pig Cloning

Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1996, the idea of animal cloning has been moving more and more from the realm of science fiction to science reality. There is now a company in the United States that offers pet cloning services called ViaGen Pets.

Our humans recently had a chance to speak with a company representative, and they said that they only currently offer their services for cats and dogs. This is because it takes a lot of research and development work to discover a reliable cloning process for each animal species, and it's probably no surprise that there are a lot more cat and dog owners out there to sell their services to. Also, their services are currently pretty expensive; they currently charge $50,000 for dog cloning, and $25,000 for cat cloning, although they hope to bring the cost down to $5,000 in the future. (They also offer genetic preservation services for $1,600 to save your pet's DNA for possible future cloning.) However, given how far animal cloning has come in the 21 years since Dolly, who knows how this will change in the next decade or two? Guinea pig cloning could become both available and affordable for the average human.

Here's the process works, according to one of their brochures:

No guinea pigs yet..

Of course, we may want to step back and ask an obvious question here: Why would you want to do this? Why wouldn't someone just accept a guinea pig (or other pet) created the way nature has been making them up to this point? According to veterinarian Alice Villalobos, “As a veterinary oncologist also focused on palliative care and hospice for dogs and cats, I see how this could become a more accessible opportunity for those who want to have an option for a continuum with a genetically similar pet who they are on the verge of losing.” These sentiments seem to match the user reviews on the ViaGen Pets Facebook page:

• "Thanks to Viagen and their great staff I have peace of mind knowing there is a piece of my angel out there waiting for me! I can hardly wait to hold her in my arms again."
• "It's never easy losing a "pet", especially when you think of them as family and their health declines almost overnight. Preserving our cat's cells helped with the grieving process because even though she is no longer with us, her cells are preserved! No matter what we decide down the road as far as cloning, it's nice knowing there are options."
• "You gave Casanova a second chance at being able to continue his lineage (as Casanova is almost 17 now and his sperm are inactive). Casanova 2.0 one day will be able to continue Casanova's family tree"

We think this is all understandable. I remember how painful it was to lose our cage mates Buffy and Lola 1, and perhaps having a clone of them would have made the loss easier to accept. On the other hand, if you have room in your home for another guinea pig, creating a new cloned guinea pig in a surrogate mother seems like a missed opportunity to adopt one of the many guinea pigs who are out there and needs a good home.

What are your thoughts on guinea pig cloning? Let us know in the comments below!