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Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady revealed that his dog, Junie, is a clone of his late dog, Lua, who died in 2023.
Brady, 48, said Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company that he's an investor in, used blood collected prior to Lua's death to clone her as part of the company's announcement of the acquisition of Viagent Pets and Equine on Tuesday (November 4).
“I love my animals. They mean the world to me and my family,” Brady said via PEOPLE. “A few years ago, I worked with Colossal and leveraged their non-invasive cloning technology through a simple blood draw of our family's elderly dog before she passed.”
Brady claimed that Colossal Biosciences "gave my family a second chance with a clone of our beloved dog," adding that he is “excited how Colossal and Viagen's tech together can help both families losing their beloved pets while helping to save endangered species.”
Viagen had famously cloned pets for Barbra Streisand and Paris Hilton, while Colossal is better known for "de-extinction" efforts aimed toward bringing back extinct species. Brady and his ex-wife, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, shared Junie and the late pit bull mix was commonly shown on the retired quarterback's social media accounts, as well as starring alongside him in an Ugg Australia commercial in 2014.
“We love you Lua, RIP." Brady wrote in a post shared on his Instagram Story at the time of Lua's death, which included a photo of the dog with his son and daughter, adding that she was "forever in our hearts."
Brady is the NFL's all-time passing leader for yards and touchdowns, as well as quarterback wins and Super Bowl victories, among numerous other records.