Scientists have unveiled five clones of a search and rescue dog that helped to find people trapped in the rubble of the 9/11 attacks in New York.

The pups were presented to their ancestor's handler, James Symington, a former Canadian police officer, in Los Angeles. Mr Symington choked back tears as he formally took possession of the five descendants of his beloved German shepherd, Trakr, who died in April.

He was presented with the pups after winning the Golden Clone Giveaway —a competition organised by BioArts International, a Californian company, to find the world's most "clone-worthy" dog.

Mr Symington said that he hoped the puppies — Trust, Valour, Prodigy, Solace and Deja Vu — would follow in Trakr's footsteps. "We're here to celebrate that Trakr's legacy lives on in these five beautiful puppies," he said.

"If they have the same attributes Trakr did, then hopefully they'll develop into world-class search and rescue dogs."

Mr Symington and Trakr arrived at the site of the World Trade Centre collapse on September 12, 2001 and were one of the first K9 search and rescue teams on the scene. After working almost non-stop for 48 hours, Trakr located the last survivor in the rubble of the twin towers.

"Trakr was an extraordinary search and rescue dog. His work at Ground Zero was the culmination of his career," Mr Symington said.

BioArts International, which says it offers the world's first commercial dog cloning service, partnered with South Korea's SooAm Biotech Research Foundation to clone Trakr under the direction of scientist Hwang Woo-Suk.

BioArts' chief executive, Lou Hawthorne, said that canine cloning would remain beyond the reach of ordinary pet lovers, with cloned dogs costing an average $144,000 (£87,833) each.

He defended the right of people to clone their dogs instead of obtaining new pets from rescue shelters. "I think 99 per cent of the time people should get their pets from shelters,'' he said.

"But can we agree that 1 per cent of the time if you have a one-in-a-million dog and you have the money to pay for it, you should be able to go to either a breeder or a cloner.''

Mr Symington said that one of his new litter, Trust, was an exact replica of Trakr. "The physical similarities are uncanny," he said.

"He's the spitting image of the Trakr that I first met in 1995. He has exactly the same markings, the way he moves, everything. Very alert, very intelligent and intuitive.

"I respect that cloning's not for everyone. But there are few dogs that are born with extraordinary abilities and Trakr was one of those dogs," he said.

"I look forward to the day that these puppies can follow in Trakr's footsteps and play an important role in other rescues."

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