(CNN) A doggy play date in a North Carolina pond turned tragic after three pups died from toxic algae. Now, their owners say they hope their loss will educate fellow dog lovers about the dangerous blooms.

Melissa Martin and Denise Mintz took their beloved dogs Abby, Izzy and Harpo to a pond in Wilmington on Thursday night to cool off. But within 15 minutes of leaving the pond, Abby, a West Highland white terrier, began to have a seizure.

Martin rushed her to a veterinary hospital, with Izzy and Harpo right behind her. Upon their arrival, Izzy, also a Westie, started seizing, and both terriers rapidly declined. Then Harpo, her 6-year-old "doodle" mix therapy dog , began to seize and show signs of liver failure.

By midnight Friday, all three dogs had died, she said.

Izzy, Abby and Harpo died from the toxic algae. All three experienced liver failure, Martin said.

The culprit, Martin's veterinarian said, was poisoning from blue-green algae present in the pond where they played.