I believe that what makes us who we are is our individual essence, life energy, or soul (whatever you want to call it), not our physical bodies and I also believe that it remains intact when we leave our physical bodies. What makes us who we are is such a complex combination of so many things that I do not believe that it would ever be possible to duplicate nor do I think it would be beneficial.
Death is a natural part of the circle of life and I would feel that I was being disrespectful to my pet if I tried to make a copy. To me, it somehow cheapens the memory of the original version. It would not be out of love for his or her life, because you cannot bring that life back. It seems to me to be based more on a selfish need to possess something similar to something you once owned.
Animals (and people) are not like articles of clothing or manufactured goods. We should not be mass (re)produced. We are like works of art and we all know that once they start making copies of the original works, you see a decline in both quality and value.
For me, I prefer to love my pet for its individuality while it is here and continue to love it when it is called home. I guess that all of my years of working with senior animals have given me a greater appreciation for the meaning of life and the transition of death. They have taught me that life is not measured in quantity.
Every time that I think I cannot open my heart to a new pet, I find that I can fall in love again. I think that all of the animals already in existence deserve to have someone fall in love with them more than we deserve to be able to make a recreation of a past pet. They deserve to have us appreciate their individuality. It is surprising sometimes that they express many of the same qualities as other pets I've known, but they deserve to be embraced for who they are.
Why clone when there are animals being destroyed every second of every day because they don't have a home? I just can't see it. They need us. I am all for cloning organs for medical purposes, but I get off the train there. I can see no reason for cloning complete beings. I think it devalues life.
Don't spend your time trying to recreate your past...there is a whole future out there and there are so many pets already in this world that need you. If you give them a chance, you can have the same sort of love that you had before or have now. It will be uniquely different, but none the less precious.