Exclusive | Rise of the $50K doggelgngers: How cloned pets became the hot, new investment for grieving owners

When Venessa Johnson first laid eyes on her new puppy Ollie, the adorable, 8-week-old Shih Tzu seemed more than a little familiar.Everything about him — his little nose, his mannerisms — brought back bittersweet memories of her late, beloved companion Oliver, who passed away in December of last year.“It was strange because it was Oliver’s eyes looking at me, but it was not wholly him,” Johnson, 48, told The Post of her first, emotional meeting with Ollie in upstate New York recently, thousands of miles away from her home on the West Coast.There was a good reason for the uncanny canine coincidence: cloning.Ollie is Oliver’s doggelgänger.Thanks to radical advancements in technology, your beloved pet — or at least a version of him or her — can now live forever, using tissue samples collected before their death.Once a quirky novelty reserved for rich celebrities such as Barbra Streisand and Paris Hilton, ordinary Americans are increasingly opting to clone their cats and dogs — turning to companies that charge upwards of $50,000 for the privilege.Now, a new wave of boldfaced names are jumping on the trend — Tom Brady, who recently cloned his family dog, Lua, has even invested in the technology that gave him the second-gen pitbull mix.Supporters call it a scientific miracle, allowing animal lovers an everlasting bond with their furry friends.Critics, on the other hand, claim pet cloning opens a Pandora’s Box of ethical issues.Mortality — and, by extension, morality — are, they say, quite literally going to the dogs.Losing Oliver was devastating for Johnson, an Amazon executive living in Los Angeles.

After rescuing him in 2013, the two became inseparable.“I don’t have kids; I’m single,” she said.

“We were together 24/7.I brought him everywhere.”Oliver’s untimely passing last year, just before Christmas, sent the devoted dog mom into a spiral of unrelenting grief.Amidst her devastation, she turned to the internet and found Vi...