When I Go, Let Me Go

Cotton: Buddy, you're my brother and I love you.

Buddy: Thanks, it's nice to hear you say that.

Merci: We all love you, Buddy, but .....

Buddy: But? But what?

Percy: But if Jan ever decides to clone you, we're leaving home!

Buddy: But why? What have I done to you?

Cyndi: You haven't done anything to any of us, Buddy.

Crystal: You're unique, Buddy. One of a kind.

Samaritan: What about me? Am I one of a kind too?

Rusty: Of course you are! We're all unique. Look at us. We don't look anything alike and we're brother and sisters.

Cameron: Yes, we're all different. Can you imagine if we all looked alike?

Merci: Yes, that would be weird. Jan loves each of us. I don't think she would want us to be clones of each other.

Buddy: What's a clone? Is that where someone creates a fake me?

Cotton: Exactly! A fake Buddy. One "created" to look like you but isn't you.

Crystal: I read today that cats have been cloned and now dogs.

Cyndi: Why would anyone want a fake Buddy?

Percy: Yes, why? We like the Buddy we have, don't we?

Rusty: Well, I think it's sad that humans are actually cloning animals to look like animals that have died. That doesn't make any sense to me, especially when there are millions of animals being killed in shelters every year.

Cameron: Yes, Rusty, you and Merci were adopted from the shelter. You could have been among the ones who didn't come out of it alive.

Samaritan: Humans are hard to understand. Some of them treat us like throwaway trash and others can't let us go when we die. Death happens to all of us eventually.

Buddy: Yes, it does. And I hope when I die, Jan won't try to clone me. I want to be the only me - um, the only Buddy she ever rescued.

Samaritan: Me too. I mean, I want to be her only Samaritan. And I hope she loves me enough to let go when my time comes.

Buddy: Good. We're all agreed on this. So let's go watch the squirrels in the back yard.

Cotton: Good idea. Jan won't be interested in cloning any of us, so we don't need to bookmark Best Friends Again (NOT the same as Best Friends Animal Society) for her. And we don't want to let her know about the idiots, um, company offering to clone the dogs of the 5 highest bidders at an auction next month. She'll just get upset and use some words we aren't supposed to hear.

Cameron: Yes, my ears are burning just thinking about it. Let's go watch the squirrels with Buddy.