A COUPLE from Bournemouth who are set to pay £40,000 to clone their dog that was killed in a hit and run, are calling on motorists “to do their legal duty”.

Dominika Sojka, 34, and her partner Ian Clague, 62, lost their 10-month-old puppy Bijoux after it escaped from their garden in June and was hit by a car.

They said that the driver did not stop at the scene and are urging other drivers to stop and call the police.

Dominika said: “She was gone so quickly.

“I was looking at ways to preserve her, I was thinking of stuffing her, but then I thought I didn't want her body to be disturbed in any way.

“Then I thought, maybe I can clone her, which I thought wasn't really possible, but when I looked it up I realised it was possible in America.

“I was like ‘wow’.”

Dominika added: “It gives me hope.

“I know it won't be exactly the same dog - it's a twin. The colours will be the same but the way the patches are will most likely be different.

“But the shape, everything else will be the same as Bijoux was.

“So, while there is still hurt from the death, she will be back with us.”

Ian said: “They culture the cells to make sure they've got a lot of cells and then they freeze it, so they've got a preserved sample, and you pay a certain amount for that.

“But the real cost is then when you clone the animal, and that has the happen in the US because it's not legal in the UK. But you can import your cloned dog once it's alive."

He added: 'We haven't cloned her yet, she's in deep freeze at the moment.

“It's quite expensive to resurrect her, about $50,000 (£40,000).”

A study from animal welfare charity, Blue Cross, found that 86 per cent of motorists would not call the police if they injured a dog and no owner was in sight.

Under UK law, a driver who hits a dog is required to stop and report the accident to the police.