America’s Got Talent magician and comedian Piff the Magic Dragon, real name John van der Put, decided to clone his late dog, Mr. Piffles, for the second time.
Following the original Mr. Piffles’ death in November, the magician revealed that the first clone, Fourtune, is now nearly two years old — and he has expanded the family with two additional clones of the Chihuahua.
In an Instagram post, van der Put wrote: “Cloning Mr. Piffles worked so well the first time, we decided to do it again!”
The video post showed van der Put and his fiancée and stage partner, Jade Simone, picking up two additional Chihuahua puppies at a Las Vegas airport. The new pups, named Fivel and SixPack, are over 3 months old.
“Hello, we’re here to pick up some dogs,” van der Put said in the video, introducing the adorable new arrivals.
The original Mr. Piffles became a household name when he accompanied van der Put on America’s Got Talent in 2015, propelling their act to headliner status at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. As noted in van der Put’s bio, “They may be a double act, but it’s no secret who the star is.”
After Mr. Piffles passed away, AGT executive producer Sam Donnelly shared a tribute: “Mr. Piffles graced our stage with his unique charm and indifference, embodying one of the greatest canine talents to ever perform on AGT. He was loved by everyone who saw his act, and his partnership with Piff was a truly magical bond that will forever leave a lasting impact on our hearts.”
The late Mr. Piffles also starred in the most recent season of Queer Eye, which premiered on December 11.
In Episode 3, “Poof Goes Piff!,” van der Put received a personal makeover, culminating in the Magician of the Year Award from the Academy of Magical Arts at the Magic Castle. During the episode, van der Put proposed to Simone, and a garden was named in Mr. Piffles’ honor. The dog’s death was not revealed on the show, which aired just weeks after his passing.
On what would have been Mr. Piffles’ 17th birthday, van der Put shared a heartfelt tribute to his late companion on Instagram.
“For over fifteen years I’ve had the privilege and the pleasure of being upstaged and outshone night after night by that little ball of fluffy indifference,” he wrote. “He came into my life when I had nothing, and set me on the path to a career I could only dream of. In the beginning, I may have rescued him, but in the end, he rescued me.”
The Flamingo Hotel honored the canine’s death by naming a dog-friendly area “Mr. Piffles’ Magical Playground.”
