When dogs in Taloja, an industrial neighborhood in Mumbai, India, began walking around with bright blue fur, residents took notice.

Concern about the dogs, and fear that the dye could portend a dangerous pollutant, was quickly evident on social media and in local news reports.

A representative from the Navi Mumbai Animal Protection Cell (NMAPC), one of the animal clinics that treated the dogs, told National Geographic over the phone that heavy rains have since washed the dogs clean. In an email, Shakuntala Majumdar from Mumbai's Thane SPCA also said they had caught one of the dogs and were able to clean it up.

While the dogs that have been treated are reportedly fine, their appearance prompts a number of questions, chief among