Cocoa Mulch

[dmdsmoxie]

I got this e mail a few days ago. This may have been posted before.

 

 

Snopes

 

 

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 or cat 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:

 

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, 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.

 

*PLEASE GIVE THIS THE WIDEST

DISTRIBUTION!!! *

 

 

 

 

[Shaysmom]

How very tragic. They absolutely need to put a warning on the bag. Maybe a lawsuit or two will persuade them--sometimes nothing else does.

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

I have heard of the problems with the cocoa mulch before; and I find it hard to believe that the manufacturers are not required to mark the stuff in big lettering "TOXIC TO PETS!!!" They should be!