The toxic algae that killed three dogs in North Carolina is the same type of bacteria found in several New Jersey lakes this summer, according to a report.

It’s uncertain if the cyanobacteria bloom in the Garden State is of the same strain as the lethal algae in North Carolina, but one environmentalist warned New Jerseyans should take extra safety measures.

“There are different strains of it, so you don’t know if we have the same exact strains here,” Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, told CBS 2. “But that’s why you have to take precaution.”

“When you see three dogs dying in a very short period of time, it should send out an alarm bell to pet owners everywhere that they should make sure their pets are protected and they stay out of these polluted waters,” he told the outlet.

Three pooches died last Thursday shortly after coming into contact with blue-green algae at a pond in Wilmington, NC.

The dogs’ veterinarian attributed the deaths to blue-green algae poisoning.