How.
A lonely man who purchased a dog on the cheap has discovered that the animal was, in fact, a rat.
The Chinese man bought the creature from a dog dealer who told him that he was getting a good deal on a small pet.
However, the man soon realised that the animal "didn't run like a dog" and that it was actually a bamboo rat.
Great.
Local media reports that the man, who is an office worker, shared a photo of his new pet to social media site Weibo in the hope of discovering what it was.
He said that his suspicions were raised due to the animal's "weird" behaviour.
He was then informed by social media users that the animal was, in fact, a bamboo rat that specialises in eating bamboo and a not a dog that specialises in being a dog.
Images of the rat/dog can be found
here. 
