India is a mystical and wonderful place, but we probably need to have a chat about the blue dogs roaming the streets of Mumbai.

Like something out of a superhero / horror movie (minus the mutations that put the world as we know it at risk), companies dumping “untreated industrial waste and dyes” into a river have been blamed for 11 local pooches going blue.

The first sighting was on August 11, and once the footage hit the internet the pressure to punish those responsible grew.

The Guardian reports:

“It was shocking to see how the dog’s white fur had turned completely blue,” said Arati Chauhan, head of the Navi Mumbai Animal Protection Cell, told the Times. “We have spotted almost five such dogs here and have asked the pollution control board to act against such industries.”

Chauhan had posted images of the blue dogs on the group’s Facebook page, saying the “pollutants from Taloja Industrial area not only ruining the water bodies affecting humans there but also affecting animals, birds, reptiles”.

Here’s the footage the BBC published last week:

Ruff, hey?

Following the public outcry, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board shut down the guilty party .

The silver lining is that animal welfare agencies say the dogs seem unharmed, other than their discolouration.

[source:guardian]