Six years ago, the Otto family from Boca Raton was so heartbroken at the death of their golden Labrador, Sir Lancelot, in 2008 that they had his DNA frozen.

"The only sad thing about dogs is that they have such a short life, wouldn't it be wonderful if you could live your life with the same dog," Nina Otto, the owner, observed to MSNBC.

Now, it turns out that she can - sort of.

Bereft with life without their pet, the family decided to bid on a biotech firm's dog-cloning auction in July.

On Monday, the family picked up a clone of Lancelot, called Lancelot Encore, at the Miami International Airport, where the three-month-old puppy stepped of a plane from South Korea, courtesy of Bioarts International.

Young Lancy did not come cheap: Mrs Otto sold a few pieces of expensive jewellery to raise the $155,000 price tag on the exact genetic replica of Sir Lancelot Snr.

The new arrival in the Otto house will not be lonely: he joins nine other dogs, four birds, ten cats, and six sheep.