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It all started in August 2009. A struggling magician in a dragon costume stood before a tepid audience in a small venue. Piff the Magic Dragon (John van der Put) was trying out his first hour-long show, but it wasn’t landing. The girl running the venue had a Chihuahua, and Piff’s publicist suggested he put the dog in the show. The magician reluctantly agreed, unaware that this tiny dog would soon become the cornerstone of his act (and his life). Needless to say, the dog was an instant hit, so Piff decided to get a Chihuahua of his own.
By the next day, Piff had rescued his own Chihuahua, a bedraggled little dog named Alfie, from a grim listing on Gumtree, the UK’s version of Craigslist. Alfie was a mess, with matted fur, rotting teeth, eyes caked with gunk, and a bad smell, “I was unsure, but my friend said, get him out of this situation at least, and then you can figure everything out later,” recalls Piff.
The day after that, he went into the show, and the audience loved him. Like the previous Chihuahua, he was a natural show-stopper. After that, he was always a part of the act, and they performed around 5,000 performances together over the course of 15 years, including appearing on national TV and a long-running Vegas act.
“I think he was the charm. I can be pretty grumpy and dry, so having him in the show gave the audience something to love and root for despite my best efforts,” says Piff.
Mr. Piffles was more than a co-star. He became Piff’s foil, the lovable charm that balanced the magician’s grumpy humor. Together, they hit incredible milestones: opening for Mumford and Sons, performing alongside Shania Twain, and earning the coveted Golden Buzzer on America’s Got Talent. But as time wore on, Mr. Piffles aged.
But the question loomed: how could the show go on without its furry star?
The Decision To Clone
Piff attempted other routes first. He adopted a Chihuahua who looked almost identical to Mr Piffles, but he was very anxious and didn’t like the bright lights of the stage, so he put him in charge of security. Then he tried a breeder and that dog seemed perfect, but kept growing to three times the size of Piffles and doesn’t fit in the costume, so he’s in charge of morale.
Piff learned about pet cloning when he read an article about cloned bomb-sniffing dogs in South Korea. They discussed how the cloned dogs seemed more likely to be able to learn the tasks. At the time, he was trying to find a new Mr. Piffles, so the timing couldn’t have been better.
Cloning Mr. Piffles was a bit of a Hail Mary idea. Could science replicate the magic of Mr. Piffles?
The Cloning Process
Texas-based ViaGen, which launched pet cloning in 2015, is the only company in the U.S. that currently clones pets, including dogs, cats, and horses. The process took less than a year, beginning with obtaining genetic samples from Mr. Piffles.
The first step in cloning is Genetic Preservation. Genetic Preservation is $1,600 and includes a biopsy kit, shipped to the client or their veterinarian. The biopsy kit contains the items required for their veterinarian to take and ship biopsy samples to us. Their veterinarian would obtain a few small (4 mm) skin biopsies from the dog or cat under local or general anesthesia. It would be great if this could be done as a secondary procedure, like during a dental cleaning. Biopsy samples can also be collected just after passing but are both time and temperature-sensitive.
The biopsies are then shipped right away to our lab in Texas, where we culture at least 1 million cells from the tissues. Each cell contains the dog or cat’s complete DNA, and these cells are the starting point for cloning. The cell culture takes a few weeks to complete, and then the cells are cryopreserved and stored, remaining viable indefinitely. The client doesn’t have to clone right away; these cells can be used for cloning at any point down the road. An annual storage fee of $150 begins one year after receiving samples. The Genetic Preservation fee and the annual storage fee will be applied toward the cost of cloning.
When the client is ready to proceed with cloning, we will use the cryopreserved cells to create cloned embryos. These embryos are then transferred to a surrogate mother for a normal gestation period and birthing process. Our price for dog and cat cloning is $50,000. This is for a guarantee of one puppy or kitten being inspected by a third-party veterinarian before going home and genetically verified by a third-party lab to be a genetic match to the original pet. A 50% deposit is paid upon contract signing, and the signed cloning agreement reserves the cloning spot on the waiting list. The final 50% is paid when the puppy or kitten is ready to leave our care at around 8-9 weeks of age. We do provide initial vaccinations while the puppies and kittens are in our care.
We transfer cloned embryos for different dogs and cats into a single surrogate mother at the same time. For dogs particularly, we ensure that the dogs transferred together are of a similar size. This method is beneficial for many reasons. It keeps the pregnancy rates high while still keeping the number of puppies and kittens per family low, it also provides the benefits of being raised with littermates, and it reduces the number of surrogate mothers that are needed for the cloning process.
– Cody Lamb, ViaGen
“ViaGen made the process incredibly easy,” says Piff. “The most difficult part was finding a vet who knew how to take the samples required.” It took just under a year from when he started the process to when the clone arrived.
“We had no idea whether it was going to work or what would happen, but it turned out to be a very simple process,” Piff said. “ViaGen was very helpful about what to expect at each stage.”
The Clone Takes The Stage
When the cloned puppy arrived, it was as if time had rewound. Piff, who’d never seen Mr. Piffles as a pup, was captivated by the tiny bundle of energy. Since Mr. Piffles was a rescue dog, Piff never knew what he looked like as a puppy, so he says that part of the journey was a lot of fun and a complete surprise.
The cloned Chihuahua, named Fortune, was a spitting image of the original Mr. Piffles but was more than just a doppelgänger. He had the same stage presence, the same charm. Audiences couldn’t tell the difference, and the new Mr. Piffles slipped seamlessly into the act. But behind the scenes, the cloning raised eyebrows—and ethical questions.
“Now that he’s fully grown, it’s unbelievable how similar he is to Mr Piffles when he was younger. It’s almost impossible to tell them apart in photos. And on stage, he is a true professional, crushing every gig just like Piffles did.”
While Mr. Piffles can never be replaced, having an identical dog can make the transition easier. “When Mr. Piffles passed away, having a part of him live on helped much more than I expected,” says Piff. “I imagine we will come up with new tricks together, but all built on the foundations of what Mr Piffles established.”
Cloning him isn’t about somehow making him live forever. Instead, Piff sees the cloning journey as the start of something new created because of Mr. Piffles and something that wouldn’t have been possible without him.
January 2025 Update: Mr. Piffles Cloned Again—Twice!
The legacy of Mr. Piffles continues to grow as magician Piff the Magic Dragon recently announced that he has cloned his beloved Chihuahua not once but two more times. Introducing Fiver and Six Pack, two identical clones of the original Mr. Piffles, born through the same ViaGen cloning process that brought the first Mr. Piffles clone to life. Why the names? They’re his fifth and sixth dogs, respectively.
Fiver and Six Pack join the magical family as the next generation of performers, bringing even more charm and fun to Piff’s Las Vegas show. While each pup shares the iconic look and stage presence of the original Mr. Piffles, Piff and his audience are excited to see their individual personalities shine through.
With these latest additions, Piff’s act is set to become even more dynamic, ensuring the charm of Mr. Piffles continues to captivate audiences for years to come.
Legacy Redefined
Now, with the cloned Mr. Piffles at his side, Piff continues to push the boundaries of magic and storytelling. The act is a fusion of nostalgia and innovation, a celebration of what was and what could be. As the magician takes his bow each night, the audience knows they’ve witnessed something truly magical: a dog’s legacy reborn for another decade of acts and memories.
Want to see Piff and Mr. Piffles perform? You can see them live in Las Vegas at the Flamingo showroom, where they were voted best headliner, best magician, and best comedian in Las Vegas. Learn more, shop swag, and watch more videos on Piff The Magic Dragon’s website. You can get tickets for the live show on Ticketmaster.
