We caught up with the magician after the sad news his longtime performing companion and beloved Chihuahua had died ... with the "America's Got Talent" alum revealing he created a contingency plan for this inevitable day back when his pup first started getting older.

Though word of Piff's decision to clone the pup broke a while back, the British comedian assured us he "genuinely cloned" Piffles ... and even had Mr. Piffles 2.0 join him on camera for a quick hello.

He added ... "It's not just a dog who looks like him ... Mr. Piffles 2 is 100% genetically identical to Mr. Piffles OG. It's like a way for Mr. Piffles' spirit to carry on."

Piff admitted he was inspired to pursue cloning after learning Barbra Streisand had done it for one of her dogs. He said he turned to Google for answers, ultimately reaching out to a company called ViaGen to make his dream a reality.

Fast-forward to today, Mr. Piffles 2 is now 2 years old, and Piff explains the Chihuahua had been Piffles OG's understudy for some time. Piff confirmed he'd be performing with Mr. Piffles 2 moving forward.

He noted ... "I didn't want to go forward with the act just by myself. Mr. Piffles is such a huge part of it."

Though Piff is happy to have Piffles 2 by his side, he's still thinking back fondly to his and his OG dog's many onstage moments together.

Watch the vid ... he recalls the moment Neil Patrick Harris gave him and Mr. Piffles a golden buzzer moment on 'AGT.'

The magician and his dog didn't win the competition ... but did land a residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas, where they've performed for nearly the last decade, and just extended for another 3 years.