It may be the size of a small dog, but this is not the sort of creature many of us would fancy petting.

What appears to be a giant rat was allegedly found dead in a Foot Locker shoe shop in the Bronx, New York.

Scooped on a shovel in the Fordham store's stockroom, the massive brown and white rodent measures around three feet.

The picture was uploaded to Twitter by user @thegoodfella_, who believes it was snapped by a friend last autumn.

Experts think the rodent is a Gambian pouched rat, a fairly common pet that can grow to up to three feet.

It is not the first time the giant breed has been spotted in New York City.