A PAIR of devastated pet owners turned to science to replace their beloved Boxer — by getting him cloned.

    Laura Jacques and her partner Richard Remde were left heartbroken when their dog Dylan died of a heart attack six months ago.

    The pooch had previously been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.

    The couple from Skipton in North Yorkshire, Britain, welcomed the first of two new puppies Friday after getting Dylan cloned.

    They are the first British couple to have their pet dog cloned using a process pioneered by the South Korea biotech firm Sooam.

    Speaking of Dylan’s death, Jaques told The Guardian: “When it happened I was in total shock, I couldn’t feel my limbs. I had pins and needles everywhere. I didn’t know how I would be able to cope, I thought I would have to throw myself off a bridge or something.”

    This is the first time that anyone has had a dead pet cloned, the Telegraph reports.

    They sent a piece of Dylan’s skin to the firm, which used it to create two new embryos as part of a treatment that costs £67,000 (US$99,970) a time.

    The couple initially decided to store samples of Dylan’s DNA with Sooam. Sooam provided a kit to take a biopsy from the abdomen and Remde traveled to South Korean in person to deliver it.

    But the first samples failed and by the time the second biopsy arrived it was way past the usual cut off point for successful cloning. However, the scientists at Sooam decided to go ahead and push the boundaries of the technique.

    The first puppy was born to a surrogate mother Friday.

    After the birth, Jacques said, “After they got him out I still couldn’t quite believe it had happened. But once he started making noises I knew it was real.”

    The new puppy — a male — has reportedly been named “Chance.” He was named after a character in Disney movie, “Homeward Bound,” Jacquess’ favorite.

    The first ever mammal cloned was Dolly the sheep, born in Edinburgh in 1996.

    The first ever cloned dog was in South Korea in 2005 — again by Sooam biotech scientist Dr. Woo Suk Hwang. (SD-Agencies)