Photos of blue dogs in Chernobyl have been circulating on social media lately and are causing quite a stir. Don't worry, the blue fur is not the result of radiation exposure from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. It may actually be the result of exposure to a chemical.
The dogs were first seen in early October 2025, and although they have not yet been captured or examined, experts believe they are not in any immediate danger and that the blue color of their fur will likely wash off.
Watching the Blue Dogs of Chernobyl
Members of the Dogs of Chernobyl organization first noticed the blue dogs (a program part of the Clean Future Foundation) while they were conducting a routine catch, neuter and release campaign in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (ChEZ).
Many dogs remained in the CEZ after the explosion and have since repopulated the area. The Dogs of Chernobyl organization has been helping to spay, neuter and vaccinate these dogs since 2017. To date, they have helped more than 1,000 dogs and even cats living in the Chez.
“During our week in Chernobyl, Ukraine, from October 5 to 13, 2025, we met three dogs who [appeared to have] were almost completely covered with a blue substance,” said Dr. Jennifer Betz, director of veterinary medicine for the Dogs of Chernobyl program at the nonprofit Clean Futures Fund.
“We tried several times to catch these dogs, but these dogs are very afraid of people, and to catch them you need to hit them with darts. Unfortunately, we [were] this time it was not possible to catch these particular dogs. It looks like they were rolling around in some kind of substance that had accumulated on their fur,” Betz continues.
Read more: Why are wild pigs in Germany so radioactive?
What makes Chernobyl dogs blue?
While the blue dogs living in the CHES could be easy to sensationalize—assuming they have some kind of radioactive mutation—the real reason why these dogs likely have blue fur is instead more comical.
While the team working with the Dogs of Chernobyl was investigating the blue dogs, they came across an old portable toilet or porta-potty.
“We suspect the substance came from an old portable toilet that was located in the same area as the dogs; however, we could not definitively confirm our suspicions,” says Betz.
Using geotagged photos of the blue dogs, the team pinpointed the dogs' location near the portable toilet.
Many portable toilets contain a blue liquid that acts as a deodorizer, and they speculate that dogs may have rolled around in it. However, until the team manages to capture and analyze one of the blue Chernobyl dogs, they won't know for sure what caused the blue fur.
Colorful dogs of Chernobyl
See such splashes of color on Chornobyl dogs It's not that uncommon. While the Dogs of Chernobyl team catches and treats these dogs, they often add a colored marker to each dog's head to indicate which dog was treated. However, the team emphasizes that the recent blue dogs were not due to this temporary dye.
“During our spay campaigns, we place a temporary marker on the top of the head that is green, red, blue or purple to identify which dogs we have recently had surgery on,” says Betz.
“It washes off after 2-3 days. This paint is only on the top of the head.[s] and completely different from the dogs we encountered, which were covered almost head to toe in a blue substance,” adds Betz.
Betz and the rest of the Dogs of Chernobyl team plead that the blue dogs are not the result of radiation in Chernobyl and that the dogs are active and doing well.
“The dogs appear healthy, like all the other dogs we encountered during our time at Chernobyl. I suspect that as long as they don't lick most of the substance off their fur, it will be largely harmless,” Betz concludes.
The Clean Future Foundation and Dogs of Chernobyl are working to create a better future for animals in the Chernobyl region.
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