Dog owners in the city's east end are concerned after veterinarians at an animal hospital in the Beach neighbourhood treated four dogs with symptoms that are consistent with poisoning.

Denise Bruneau took her dog Keno to the vet after he started behaving strangely and acting as if he was "drunk."

"He woke up and he was kinda wobbly," she told CBC News.

And Keno wasn't the only one. This weekend, vet Jonathan Mitelman saw four dogs, all showing similar symptoms.

"This is much too much to be just a coincidence," said Mitelman, who works at VETS Toronto & Kingston Road animal hospital.

Photos of this white powder were posted on Facebook. Some dog owners were concerned it was this powder that had made their dogs sick but police said the powder is not toxic (Facebook)

Keno and the other three dogs have all recovered. But the question of what caused the animals' sickness remains.

"We've had scares on the Beach before with meat laced with poison. Sharp objects," said Mitelman. "Oh gosh. Is this the beginning of something big that the authorities need to be notified about?"

Mitelman hasn't called police yet because he doesn't know for sure whether the dogs were poisoned. The clinic sent blood work and samples to a specialist at the University of Guelph for testing. So far the results are inconclusive.

And unlike other recent cases in the city, the dogs who got sick had not visited one specific place.

A photo of white powder found in a park in the neighbourhood was posted on Facebook this week. Police investigated and said the powder was non-toxic.

Another possible cause of the dogs' illness is yard waste rotting in this winter's unseasonably mild weather and left exposed by the lack of snow.

"The mould that grows [on yard waste] can cause exactly the signs that we're seeing," said Mitelman.

Until they figure it out, the clinic is advising dog owners to keep pets on a leash.