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Blue dog in veterinary clinic: indication of an environmental problem?
Photo: Anastasia Makarycheva / REUTERS
Seldom has the saying "known as a sore thumb" fit so well as in this case: In a Russian city, several dogs with unnatural coat colors have appeared.
A local online portal reported that a pink dog was recently spotted in Dzerzhinsk, around 360 kilometers east of Moscow.
Previously, photos of blue four-legged friends had appeared on social networks.
A total of seven blue dogs were taken to veterinary clinics for examination, according to local authorities.
They are doing well so far.
They had probably previously walked around the site of a disused Plexiglas factory and possibly fell into copper sulfate there, as the Ria Novosti agency reported, citing an insolvency administrator.
The authorities said they had contacted the company about this.
"Find out exactly where these poor fellows climbed around"
Even a member of the State Duma recently intervened in the case: It must be clarified whether the substances are dangerous for people, said the chairman of the Environment Committee, Vladimir Burmatov, in an interview with the radio station Govorit Moskva.
The public prosecutor has already been involved, because the blue strays could be an indication of a serious environmental problem, he said.
"We need to be very specific now about where those poor guys climbed around."
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bbr / dpa
