Blue dogs found near an abandoned chemical factory, tested by veterinarians

A pack of dogs found in blue coats in a Russian city is experiencing no adverse health effects, according to an initial examination by animal experts.

Photos taken in Dzerzhinsk, 370 kilometers east of Moscow, went viral, from the dogs that led many to link the various shades of blue on their coats to a now-defunct chemical plant nearby.

The dogs were spotted by a factory that produced acrylic and hydrocyanic acid before their bankruptcy in 2015.

His former bankruptcy manager, Andrey Mislivets, told the RIA news agency that dogs often roamed the area and that the bright blue copper sulfate, to which the animals may have been exposed, was stored at the site of the disabled factory.

The photos, which were shared on the website of the social network VK and reported by Russian media, raised concerns about the welfare of the animals, as well as speculation about the authenticity of the images.

City officials have negotiated permission with petrochemical company Orgsteklo to enter the closed factory grounds. Seven dogs were subsequently taken to the Zoozachita-NN veterinary hospital near Nizhny Novgorod for examination.

Animal experts said there was no reason to assume that the blue color on their fur would have a negative effect on their health, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported.

In a statement to the RBC news channel, the director of the veterinary center, Vladimir Groisman, said: “We have already performed initial tests on the animals. The general analysis of their blood and feces showed normal levels for all of them, including their biochemistry.”

Groisman had previously said that the dogs probably hid from the cold and that their hair was stained with chemical residues. He doubted that the dogs could have been caught and painted and said the animals appeared to be well fed and alert, reported the local news site Vgorode.

“We still don’t know what caused the dyeing of the dogs’ hair. This requires large-scale analysis, which we cannot do here, ”he added.

The dogs will be under observation for a week, while two of the animals have found new owners, the RIA said.

The welfare group Humane Society International raised concerns about the condition of dogs and asked authorities in Russian cities to implement sterilization and vaccination programs to protect the welfare of stray dogs.

Meanwhile, an investigation into the cause of the incident has been launched by the Nizhny Novgorod and Mordovia branch of the Federal Service for the Supervision of Natural Resources, which is known as Rosprirodnadzor.

In a statement to Newsweek, Rosprirodnadzor, said he was preparing the legal procedure that would allow regular inspections at the factory site. Newsweek contacted Zoozachita-NN for comment.