Many clones will probably be spontaneously aborted, or have to be destroyed because of various birth defects. Abnormalities may also develop later in life. The origins, quality of life, and future of the caged female dogs, who are used as egg donors or surrogate mothers, and the procedural risks to their health and overall welfare, need to be addressed. These dogs may number in the thousands if scientists succeed in cloning dogs and there is public demand. There is no evident benefit to dogs.
Many communities have an overload of unwanted, abandoned, and lost pets.
Countless numbers of homeless companion animals suffer and die on the streets or in the wild. One sensible alternative is to adopt a pet from an animal shelter and give the pet a good home. People could donate money, equivalent to what it would cost to produce one clone, toward improving the welfare of countless dogs and other animals around the world, and fund spay and neuter programs to help decrease the pet overpopulation problem. The bioethics and animal rights and welfare concerns that these developments raise, need to be examined. Dog owners who put out the money to have their dogs cloned may want to think twice.