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 Please tell every dog or cat owner you know. Even if you don't
have a pet, please pass this to those who do. Over the
weekend, the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa
Mulch from Target to use in their garden. The dogs loved the way
it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their
garden. Their dog (Calypso) decided the mulch smelled good
enough to eat and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few
times which was typical when she eats something new but wasn't
acting lethargic in any way. The next day, Mom woke up and took
Calypso out for her morning walk . Half way through the walk,
she had a seizure and died instantly. Although the mulch
had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation
on the company's web site, this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs
and cats. Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey's, and
they claim that "It is true that studies have shown that 50% of
the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a
variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However,
98% of all dogs won't eat it." *Snopes site gives the following
information:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp *
Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden
Supply and other Garden supply stores contains a lethal
ingredient called 'Theobromine'. It is lethal to dogs and cats.
It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will
ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in
the last 2-3 weeks. Theobromine is in all chocolate,
especially dark or baker's chocolate which is toxic to dogs.
Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of
theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine
and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of
garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe
convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach
contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the
presence of lethal amounts of theobromine. |
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