Meet Milly, World’s Tiniest Dog Which Has Been Cloned 49 Times

Milly has created a 2nd world record for being cloned 49 times. She holds the record for the smallest living dog.

Miracle Milly, the tiny chihuahua has been cloned 49 times

(Photo: AP/Caters TV

Video Editor: Vivek Gupta

Meet this minuscule mutt which has created a second world record after being cloned an astonishing 49 times.

Since 2012, Miracle Milly has held the Guinness World Record for Smallest Living Dog.

Standing at less than 10cm tall and weighing just over a pound, the same as a large apple, Miracle Milly, the tiny chihuahua, aged 6, has been replicated by scientists who are hoping to discover why she is so small.

At birth, she weighed less than an ounce and could fit into a teaspoon. She had to be fed every two hours with an eyedropper.

Her minuscule measurements led her to be adored worldwide and her forster mom Vanesa Semler, from Kissimmee, USA, was approached by Sooam Biotech in Seoul, Korea, for cloning Milly.

“We believe she has no idea she is a dog because she never barks and only cries when she wants something. She is like our baby. She only eats fresh chicken and salmon. While being filmed, when she was hungry she would turn her back on the camera and start crying. After we fed her she started playing and doing tricks for the camera again. She’s so funny, she tells you exactly what she wants. She’s a really smart dog, she never runs around and instead waits for you to pick her up.

Vanesa Semler, Milly’s foster mother

To clone Millie, scientists extracted cells from the dog and the nucleus holding her genetic information was then transplanted to a donor egg cell.

From there, the developing embryo was placed into a surrogate mother who would give birth to the pups.

In August last year, Millie’s clones were born and now 12 of the doggie doppelgangers live with the Semler family.

Named Molly, Mally, Melly, Molly, Mumu, Mila, Mary, Mimi, Moni, Mini, Mela and Mulan, they have identical personalities and looks, apart from a few being slightly bigger.

The original idea was to make ten clones in total, nine for research and one for us, but they decided to clone more. She was chosen for being the smallest dog in the world. They wanted to find out why she was so small, then study her genes to see what makes her so tiny. It’s amazing to be around all of the clones, they are so smart, very playful like Milly and have really similar personalities.

Vanesa Semler, Milly’s foster mother

When Millie was born in Dorado, Puerto Rico, in 2011, she was so tiny, it was believed she wouldn’t survive.

Fortunately, doting mum Vanesa, would feed her milk every two hours to ensure she survived.

While they knew she was small, it was only while watching a news report that they realised Milly was a contender for Guinness World Record.

Since then, she’s become an internet start travelling internationally and has over 300,000 followers online.

(With inputs from AP)