Giant rodents pumped with steroids sold as POODLES for £100 in baffling cut price pedigree scam

A PET lover was horrified when he realised his two poodles were actually ferrets pumped with drugs.

The anonymous individual, from Catamarca, Argentina was lured into the scam after learning he would only have to pay $150 (£117) for the pair of miniature canines.

However, he quickly realised that he would be the one to have his tail between his legs after taking his ‘dogs’ to the vet for their vaccinations.

Once there, it was quickly revealed that the owner had purchased what Argentinians call ‘Brazilian rats’.

The animals turned out to be two ferrets that had been given steroids at birth in order to increase their size, while extra grooming had ensured their coats would resemble that of a fluffy poodle.

Toy poodles are known for their intelligence and are described as sweet, cheerful, perky and lively and love to be around people.

But due to a toy poodle’s small stature of no more than 10 inches, it doesn’t take much for a six inch ferret to bulk up to a similar size under the influence of injected drugs.

And unfortunately for the man, he fell for the cheap scam at the giant La Salada market, alongside another woman who had been told that she was buying a Chihuahua – only to end up with a ferret.

A number of animal scam stories have come out of the woodwork of late following the ‘fake’ sun bear ordeal in China last month.

Visitors have been flocking to Hangzhou zoo in eastern China to see a strange-looking bear that has gone viral online following speculation that it is actually a man in a costume.

The sun bear, named Angela, was filmed standing on her hind legs and ‘waving’ her arms at onlookers, while her unflattering saggy skin resembled that of a baggy costume.

Elsewhere in China, Yuanjiashan Zoo was accused of trying to pass off a golden retriever as a lion after footage resurfaced of the animal sat within the confines of the big cat’s enclosure.

However, the zoo claimed they hadn’t yet got around to changing the signs on the enclosures, having moved the lions to a different area.