Taken at face value, pet cloning may seem at best a frivolous practice, costly both to the cloned pet's health and its owner's pocket. At worst, its critics say, it is misguided and unhealthy—a way of exploiting grief to the detriment of the animal, its owner, and perhaps even animal welfare in general.

But if the great pains we are willing to take to clone Fido raise the status of companion animals in the public eye, then the practice might be defensible.