Cocoa Mulch

Subject: Cocoa Mulch Fri Aug 08, 2008 6:47 am

I received this via email and thought I'd share:

"Even if you don't have a pet, please pass this to those that do
Yesterday one of our dog agility friends experienced a tragedy and
wanted me to pass a special message along to all of my dog loving
friends and family.

Please tell every dog owner you know. Over the weekend the doting owner
of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their
garden. They loved the way it smelled, and it was advertised to keep
cats away from their garden.

Their dog Calypso decided that 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 website, 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."

This 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. Just a word of
caution, check what you are using in your gardens and be aware of what
your gardeners are using in your gardens.

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, axanthine 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.

PLEASE GIVE THIS THE WIDEST DISTRIBUTION!!!"

Subject: Re: Cocoa Mulch Fri Aug 08, 2008 6:55 am

Thanks for posting LMH !
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Subject: Re: Cocoa Mulch Fri Aug 08, 2008 8:27 am

wow...thanks

Subject: Re: Cocoa Mulch Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:11 pm

Yeah i think the best mulch to put in the yard where you pups play would be the kind that is safe for kids play yards and such. If you're dogs are anything like mine...they love to chew on the stuff.

Subject: Reply> Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:24 pm

Thanks for the heads up........Poor baby that had to have been horrible to have that happen while on a walk. What the hell do you do? Id go crazy thats for sure.
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Subject: Re: Cocoa Mulch Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:46 pm

Yah I'm not sure how I'd react in that situation. It's sad that's for sure.