NFL legend Tom Brady has revealed something that made headlines across the sports and science worlds. His new dog, Junie, is not just another pet he welcomed into his family.

She is a genetic twin of pit bull mix Lua, who passed away in December 2023. Junie was brought to life through cloning technology by Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company where Brady is an investor. The announcement, which came on November 4, 2025, showed the world that when it comes to honoring loved ones, even the greatest athletes turn to cutting-edge science to find a second chance.

Tom Brady’s bond with Lua: From family pet to cloning inspiration

Tom Brady and ex-wife Gisele Bündchen adopted Lua from a local animal shelter back in 2014, making her part of their growing family early in their marriage. The brown pit bull mix became a fixture in their household, appearing alongside Brady in a 2014 Ugg Australia commercial and making regular appearances in his social media posts.

Lua was there through his Patriots years, the move to Tampa Bay, Super Bowl victories, and even the highly publicized divorce between the couple that finalized in October 2022. Lua became more than just a pet; she was a constant companion during one of the most turbulent chapters of Brady’s personal life.

On December 23, 2023, just two days before Christmas, both Brady and Bündchen announced Lua’s passing on Instagram with heartbreaking tributes. Brady wrote, “We love you Lua. RIP” and “Forever in our hearts.”

Brady’s grief ran deep enough that he reached out to Colossal Biosciences about cloning his dog. In a blog post, Brady described his first conversation with Ben Lamm, Colossal’s co-founder and CEO, at a conference where the CEO was speaking about cloning and genetic engineering.

Brady added that his first question was half-joking but deeply sincere: could they clone his elderly dog, Lua? Lamm replied that while de-extinction was their main focus, technically, they could. That conversation stayed with Brady.

The cloning process: How Colossal Biosciences created Junie from Lua

Before Lua’s death, the family had already taken a simple blood draw from her using Colossal’s non-invasive cloning technology, keeping her genetic material preserved for this possibility.

The timing of Brady’s announcement coincided with Colossal’s acquisition of Viagen Pets and Equine, a Texas-based biotech company that has been at the forefront of commercial pet cloning for years. The company is perhaps best known for cloning Barbra Streisand’s beloved Coton du Tulear named Samantha in 2017 and later cloning Paris Hilton’s missing Chihuahua Diamond Baby (who disappeared in September 2022) into two puppies named Diamond and Baby.

Brady expressed excitement about how the combined technologies of Colossal and Viagen could help families grieving their pets while also advancing endangered species conservation efforts.

The science of pet cloning: Somatic cell nuclear transfer explained

The technology behind creating Junie from Lua is called somatic cell nuclear transfer, or SCNT. This laboratory process has been used since the 1950s but became famous in 1996 when scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland used it to create Dolly the sheep.

The technique sounds complex but can be broken down into clear steps that happen in a laboratory. Scientists start by taking a cell from the animal being cloned. In Lua’s case, they used blood cells collected before her death. From this cell, they extract the nucleus, which contains all the genetic material, the DNA blueprint that makes up an animal.

Next comes the delicate part. Scientists take an egg cell from a donor animal and remove its nucleus using specialized equipment, leaving behind an empty egg cell. The nucleus from Lua’s cell is then inserted into this empty egg. Scientists stimulate the egg with an electrical shock, which tricks it into believing it has been fertilized and needs to start dividing. The egg begins to divide and develop, just as it would in normal reproduction.

Over about day 5 or 6, the dividing cells form a blastocyst, an early-stage embryo with about 100 cells that is identical to the original animal genetically. This embryo is then implanted into a surrogate dog mother who carries it to term, just like a normal pregnancy. The process seems straightforward in theory, but in practice it requires immense skill and expertise.

Future of pet cloning: What Tom Brady’s Junie means for families

Colossal Biosciences has become known for its ambitious de-extinction projects. Colossal publicly announced three “dire wolf” pups in April 2025 and showcases them as part of its de‑extinction program. The company also lists active projects targeting a mammoth proxy, a dodo proxy, and a thylacine proxy.

Brady’s decision to clone Lua opens a window into how wealthy and emotionally invested pet owners might handle grief in the future as cloning technology becomes more accessible and refined. His public embrace of cloning could normalize the technology for others who have lost their beloved animals and have the resources to pursue cloning.