Britain's first cloned dog Minnie Winnie has given birth to two healthy puppies

Minnie Winnie, a dachshund conceived in a test tube in 2014, had two male pups delivered by emergency caesarean section.

Her owner, Rebecca Bourne, 34, said she decided to breed from Minnie Winnie after the clone’s mother, Winnie, died last year.

She said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled. They are just gorgeous and Minnie Winnie is so pleased with them. It’s a dream come true to continue Winnie’s legacy.

“It’s funny, because Minnie Winnie was cloned, the pups are closer to being Winnie’s sons than her grandsons. They’re still effectively a little piece of her which I love.”

Winnie was cloned after Rebecca won a £60,000 competition to have her pet reproduced.

Minnie Winnie was conceived in a laboratory in Seoul, South Korea.

She was born on March 30, 2014, to a surrogate mother before being flown to Britain to join Winnie at Rebecca’s home in Battersea, South London.

But Winnie died aged 15 after being hit by a car.

Rebecca said: “When we lost Winnie in May last year, it was literally the worst day of my life.”

However, it spurred her to breed from her pet’s cloned offspring.

Minnie Winnie became pregnant earlier this year but reabsorbed the litter, a natural and common occurrence which disappoints breeders.

Then on November 4 she had her two pups, fathered by a seven-year-old dachshund named Otto.

Rebecca said: “There was one big one and one little one. The big one was blocking the way out into the world so they had to be delivered by emergency C section to ensure the safety of both Minnie Winnie and the pups.

“It was a pretty stressful time but they were in very good hands. Minnie Winnie has taken to motherhood like a duck to water, she adores her pups and is a very attentive mummy.

“The pups are thriving and we all adore them.”

Author Rebecca has yet to name the pups officially although the vet called the bigger one Wally and the smaller one Willy.

Rebecca has written a children’s book, The Wilbies Go To The Moon, documenting the adventures of her son Wilbur, three, with Minnie Winnie and Winnie.

NEW LIFE FROM A SKIN SAMPLE

MINNIE Winnie was created by scientists who took a skin sample from her mother, Winnie.

It was stored in liquid nitrogen and flown to South Korea.

The team took an egg from another female dog and removed the nucleus, which holds the genetic material. Winnie’s DNA was placed into the egg which was given electric shocks to trigger cell division.

The egg was then implanted into a surrogate. Minnie Winnie, who was genetically identical to Winnie, was born via caesarean section weighing about 1lb.

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