Barbra Streisand says the clones of her dead dog can’t replace her old pet’s "soul".
The 76-year-old star’s pet pooch Samantha died at the age of 14 last year, and she made the decision to clone the animal because she "couldn’t find another curly hair Coton".
Opening up about clones Miss Scarlet and Miss Violet she told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: "Losing her was catastrophic for me… No [they’re not the same], as a matter of fact, they look like her, but you can’t clone a soul.
"It’s like a child. Every child is different, even if they’re twins. It was fantastic to see them. They jump around like monkeys. Fanny and Sammy can’t get on my couch. They have to be lifted up."
It’s clear Samantha is irreplaceable, and Barbra – who also has pup Miss Fanny, a straight-haired Coton – admitted she felt a strong connection to the "oddball".
She added: "She was an oddball, that’s why I related to her. I was kind of an oddball. So we were meant to be together and the only way I could get another curly hair dog was to clone her.
"We had to put her to sleep. It was devastating and the doctor has to get a special kit to just get a few cells from the inside of her cheek and her little tummy on the outside. That’s it!"
Earlier this year, in an essay for the New York Times, the ‘Evergreen’ hitmaker opened up further on her decision to clone Samantha, explaining that she was left so heartbroken by her death that she couldn’t bear moving on with a completely different hound.
She wrote: "I was so devastated by the loss of my dear Samantha, after 14 years together, that I just wanted to keep her with me in some way. It was easier to let Sammie go if I knew I could keep some part of her alive, something that came from her DNA.
"A friend had cloned his beloved dog, and I was very impressed with that dog. So Sammie’s doctor took some cells from inside her cheek and the skin on her tummy just before she died."
Barbra Streisand’s dog clones can’t replace dead pet’s soul
