Life in the cryo-kennel: The ‘exceptional’ life of frozen pet DNA

Abstract

This article employs a feminist science and technology studies perspective to investigate how the cryo-vitality of frozen pet DNA is potentialized and animated. This is accomplished by empirically foregrounding the marketing material and online presence of two genetic pet preservation companies: PerPETuate and ViaGen Pets. While the allure of cryopreservation for pet owners is situated in light of the ability to re-animate and re-entangle biological matter into future (old) pets, the preservation of pet DNA is potentialized through the logics of love, sameness, purity, and kinship. The article shows how preserved dog DNA moves from a rescue discourse in which exceptional kinds of dogs are preserved to a preservation-of-kin discourse in which the preserved pet DNA is narrated in humanist kinship terms. Exploring the ways that pet DNA preservation and culturing is articulated from kin(d) to brand, the study speaks to the human-animal cryo-interface calling for scholarly attention to the emergent businesses in preserving biological material for one’s future use.