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ANIMAL abuse campaigners have rescued two forlorn and frightened puppies with their hair coloured a garish pink.

The dogs were used to pose in photos with children in a Russian seaside resort.

 Two of the rescued dogs
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Two of the rescued dogsCredit: East2west News

Along with an adult whose fur was dyed blue, they were later cruelly dumped in woods 35 miles from the Black Sea town of Gelendzhik.

A rescuer said one of them had agonising wounds from air gun bullets "after being shot at to make them flee".

Covered in fleas and ticks, they are now on the way to Moscow for treatment by vets.

 The health effects of the dye are unknown at this stage
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The health effects of the dye are unknown at this stageCredit: East2west News
 The dogs are being fed and given some TLC after their abuse at the hands of their previous owner
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The dogs are being fed and given some TLC after their abuse at the hands of their previous ownerCredit: East2west News
 One of the adult dogs is so traumatised it cannot be caught and it remains in the woods where the others were found
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One of the adult dogs is so traumatised it cannot be caught and it remains in the woods where the others were foundCredit: East2west News

It is unclear if the dogs were spray painted or dyed with chemicals but the street photographer boasted that the colouring process was "easy and cheap".

Two short video clips show the animals earlier on a street in Gelendzhik before the owner decided to ditch them because he had other coloured dogs, one painted like a lion.

In one video a child is heard saying: "Pink puppies are walking here. They are so cute."

It is not known who abandoned the three dogs and shot at them.

But when criticised for colouring the dogs, their former owner Mark Protsenko replied online:  "Animals are meant to be eaten and to serve as material for coats, shoes and gloves.

"Every day when you sit at your table you consume an animal. The same goes for pills that are all animal-tested."

It is known that Protsenko - who runs his business with his wife - had sought to sell the three dogs which were later found in woods.

 The dogs are no longer the forlorn animals they were before being rescued
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The dogs are no longer the forlorn animals they were before being rescuedCredit: East2west News
 They now live a carefree life thanks to the animal cruelty campaigners who took them in
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They now live a carefree life thanks to the animal cruelty campaigners who took them inCredit: East2west News

In an advertisement he claimed: "Clients flood us even when I take them out for a routine walk.

"It is the high season now and they are a very good source of money in resorts."

He boasted he could make up to £270 a day from people paying to be pictured with the animals.

He claimed he wanted to sell the coloured dogs because he owned  "too many" which he deployed in a number of Russian seaside resorts.

An animal rights group said: "This couple ... now walk around with new puppies - pink, blue and a lion coloured adult Samoyed.

"Last week they were seen almost every day in Novorossiysk, and recently they were in Gelendzhik.

"Residents and tourists - please do not support this business and complain whenever you see them."


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