FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German police shot dead a dog-sized rat which attacked a 59-year-old man outside his home near Frankfurt, Bild newspaper reported on Monday. The mass-selling tabloid quoted police as saying the half metre (20 inch)-long rat was as vicious as a fighting dog and as big as a dachshund. It said the rodent‘s intended victim, identified only as Horst L., heard something rustling in a bush and then a sharp hissing. He turned around and saw the rat, ready to pounce at him. "I was rigid with fear," said Horst. "I just had time to grab a wooden plank to fend it off." The rat sank its teeth into the plank and Horst ran inside his home to call the police. Officers tried to grab the animal with thick gloves but it attacked them so they shot it.