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Neil Patrick Harris received an 'awesome' gift from husband David Burtka: stuffed replicas of their dogs

Neil Patrick Harris on Thursday offered a peek at an "awesome" gift he received this year: stuffed replicas of his three family dogs.

Unusual, right? The Matrix Resurrections actor shared a photo of the product made by the company Cuddle Clones. Gidget, Spike and Ella — the three dogs that he shares with husband David Burtka and their 11-year-old twins, Gideon and Harper — were there in the plush, photographed sitting in front of the Christmas tree. A second photo showed the real pups in the same pose.

Neil Patrick Harris received an interesting Christmas gift. (Photo: Elton John AIDS Foundation/Getty Images for the Elton John AIDS Foundation)
Neil Patrick Harris received an interesting Christmas gift. (Photo: Elton John AIDS Foundation/Getty Images for the Elton John AIDS Foundation)

He thanked Burtka, his husband of seven years, for "being so gift smart."

Commenters, including actress Christina Hendricks, raved about the faux dogs, though a few people thought they were creepy.

The family is super close to their pets, and the relationship grew even stronger during the pandemic.

"Having these sweet dogs that are able to cuddle with you and give you unconditional love is important," Harris told People in November 2020.

In the same interview, Burtka explained that they'd been able to spend more time with wire terrier mix Gidget, adopted in 2016, and chihuahua and French bulldog mix Spike, who reportedly first appeared online three years later, their only dogs at the time.

"The walks every day with the dogs have been nice. They've been loving it," Burtka told the magazine. "Taking a walk with your family, there's nothing like it. Things come up that you talk about and the dogs are getting exercise so they're feeling happy and in turn we're all happy."

At the time, Harris said the dogs were "like siblings."

"Spike adores Gidget. He follows her around and chews on her and just like a little brother," Harris explained. "If Gidget barks at something, Spike will stop whatever he's doing and run over and see what it is. He just follows her around."

Golden retriever Ella, who's named after Burtka's grandmother Eleanor, came along in December 2020, courtesy of Santa.