The curious case of Russia’s blue and green strays2 min read

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Did you hear that right? Blue and green dogs? Yup, absolutely. Some stray dogs in Russia are turning blue and green over the winter and locals have no idea why.

Whoa! What’s happening?

Nobody really knows. Well, here’s a clue that the people are working on. All these dogs appeared suddenly in industrial towns this winter. Seven dogs with blue fur were seen near an abandoned glass factory in Nizhny Novgorod, an industrial city about 370km (230 miles) east of Moscow.

It is suspected that the dogs rolled around in the blue dye powder that the glass plant had used, when it was still working. So, fearing for the dogs’ health, they were taken to a vet and a series of tests ensued.

Are the dogs okay?

The dogs are healthy and seem to be eating well. However, traces of Prussian Blue (a certain coloured pigment) dye were found on their fur. And there are still fears that maybe other toxic chemicals could have caused the colour to change.

While the doctors pondered, a new group of green dogs emerged, 100 km away, in the town of Podolsk. These dogs were found near a warehouse where there were sacks of green paint! However, locals think this was an attempt by some people to gain attention since the blue dogs got so much of it!

The dogs are healthy and doctors are still not able to figure out how the colour of their fur changed. While this case may take sometime to solve, it’s opens up questions about the risk of chemical pollution in Russia.