Toxic blue-green algae in bodies of water across the country has led to swimming bans and reports of dogs fatalities in at least three states, The New York Times reports. A Georgia border collie ended up brain dead on Saturday after swimming in Lake Allatoona, according to a local news report. Last week, a North Carolina woman lost all three of her dogs after they jumped into a pond. A Texas golden retriever also died in early August one hour after it jumped into a lake. Cyanobacteria in freshwater algae blooms can cause people to become sick, but animals are more susceptible to serious illness because they are more likely to ingest the algae. Animals can suffer effects like rashes, neurological problems, liver damage, respiratory paralysis, and other fatal conditions after exposure. Swimming bans have been ordered in the Pacific Northwest, Mississippi, and New Jersey in response to the intense and harmful blooms.