Mandy Moore gifted replica of late dog for baby

Mandy Moore has received a unique gift to help keep the memory of her late dog alive - a stuffed replica courtesy of her husband, Taylor Goldsmith.

The This Is Us star was left mourning the loss of her beloved Joni after she died unexpectedly on 30 November, so rocker Goldsmith decided to lift her spirits by having a stuffed animal made in the old pooch's likeness - and presented it to Moore over the holidays.

The actress and singer, who is in the third trimester of a pregnancy, has shared photos of the Cuddle Clones product on Instagram, explaining she plans to introduce the toy to their unborn son so he can get to "know" Joni, too.

"This was by far my fav (sic) gift over the holidays- something that @taylordawesgoldsmith had made. It's a little stuffed animal version of my beloved Joni so that our son will still know her, even though they never got to meet," she gushed.

Fans and famous followers marvelled at the life-like replica of the rescue dog, with country singer Margo Price commenting: "Legit thought it was real".

"Right? Even our other dog was confused," Moore replied.

The star previously revealed Joni, who was "almost 13", had passed away a week after undergoing surgery to remove a mass from her liver, but the pet's death came as such a surprise as she had been "recovering really well".

Moore went on to call Joni, who she adopted in 2008, her "first love and best friend".