Originally published 2021-02-14.
In February 2021, photographs of stray dogs with startlingly bright blue fur began spreading on Russian social media. The dogs were living around a bankrupt chemical plant in Dzerzhinsk, an industrial city about 370 km east of Moscow. Many people assumed chemical pollution was to blame. Here is what was actually established: veterinarians examined the dogs and found no serious harm, Russia's environmental regulator said leftover chemicals in the abandoned buildings could be responsible, and the exact substance was never publicly confirmed.
Stray dogs with blue-tinted fur were filmed and photographed near the former Orgsteklo plant in Dzerzhinsk in February 2021.
Where the blue dogs were found
Dzerzhinsk, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, grew up as a centre of Soviet chemical production. The dogs had made their home on the grounds of Dzerzhinskoye Orgsteklo, a plant that once manufactured plexiglass (acrylic glass) and hydrocyanic acid. The company went bankrupt in 2015 and had been in liquidation ever since, with no economic activity on site, according to regional authorities quoted by Snopes.
The images showed the dogs playing in snow, their coats a vivid turquoise that made them look more like cartoon characters than strays. Reactions online were mixed. Some people joked about the strange colour; others were alarmed that animals were being exposed to something toxic, and some saw it as a sign of how poorly Russia deals with abandoned industrial sites.
What turned the fur blue?
The plant's former bankruptcy manager, Andrey Mislivets, told the state news agency RIA Novosti that strays often wandered around the buildings, where old chemicals were still stored. He suggested the dogs might have rolled in copper sulphate, and said something similar had happened to stray dogs a few years earlier. His view, in short, was that nobody was keeping the animals away from the site.
Russia's federal environmental watchdog, Rosprirodnadzor, sent specialists to the plant. It confirmed the dogs lived near the former factory and said chemicals could have remained in the abandoned buildings, but it did not name a substance in its public statements.
The copper sulphate theory
Copper sulphate is a bright blue crystalline compound used as a fungicide and in many industrial processes, which made it an obvious suspect. However, when Snopes asked the US Environmental Protection Agency, a spokesperson said the agency had no evidence that direct contact with copper sulphate turns fur or skin blue. So the theory remains plausible-sounding but unproven.
Hydrocyanic acid: a common mix-up
Some early reports linked the colour to hydrocyanic acid, also called hydrogen cyanide, because the plant used to make it. That connection is shaky. Hydrogen cyanide is a colourless, extremely toxic compound; it does not dye fur blue. The confusion probably comes from the name "cyanide", which shares a root with the colour cyan, and from the pigment Prussian blue, which contains cyanide groups but is a different substance entirely. A dog seriously exposed to hydrogen cyanide would be in grave danger, not simply discoloured.
Other explanations floated online included old dyes or pigments left in storage, or even a deliberate prank. Without published test results, none can be ruled in or out.
Were the dogs in danger?
The biggest worry at first was that the dogs could swallow whatever was on their coats while grooming, leading to poisoning. Local officials said the animals were on private property and that talks were under way with the owners to catch them. A local authority spokesperson reportedly said the dogs "must be checked, their health must be assessed, and the reason for their hair dye must be found."
The story had a better ending than many feared. According to RIA Novosti, as reported by The Moscow Times and Snopes, seven dogs were examined by veterinarians and their test results were normal. Animal welfare workers took them in, and at least two had found new owners within days.
A pattern of strangely coloured animals in Russia
The blue dogs of Dzerzhinsk were not a one-off. Over the years there have been scattered reports from Russia and elsewhere of stray dogs turning up green, blue or other odd colours, usually blamed on dyes or industrial waste, and the former plant manager himself said something similar had happened before in Dzerzhinsk. These episodes tend to go viral because they make an invisible problem visible: chemicals left behind in derelict buildings, where stray animals and sometimes children can wander in.
Dzerzhinsk itself has often been described as one of Russia's most polluted cities, shaped by decades of chemical and defence-related production. Its legacy of contaminated sites is a reminder that when factories close, their waste does not always leave with them.
What to do if you find a discoloured animal
If you see a stray or pet with unusually coloured fur, especially near an industrial site, the safest steps are simple:
- Avoid touching the animal with bare hands, as the substance may irritate skin or eyes.
- Keep your own pets and children away from the area.
- Contact a local vet, animal rescue group or environmental authority so the animal can be examined.
- Take photos and note the location, which helps investigators trace the source.
For pet owners, a dog that has been in contact with an unknown chemical should see a vet promptly, even if it seems fine. Signs such as drooling, vomiting, breathing trouble or lethargy need urgent attention.
What we still don't know
The investigation by Rosprirodnadzor did not publish a final conclusion that we could find, and the regulator did not respond to questions from Snopes. That leaves the main question unanswered: which chemical, if any, coloured the dogs, and whether other substances on the site pose a wider risk.
What can be said with confidence is that the dogs were real, the factory was real and abandoned, and the dogs appear to have recovered without lasting harm. The striking photos did one useful thing: they drew public attention to a derelict chemical plant that otherwise might have been forgotten.
Sources: Snopes: Did Blue Dogs Appear Near a Russian Chemical Plant?; The Moscow Times, 12 February 2021.
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