Please tell every dog or cat owner you know. Even if you don't have a pet,
please pass this on 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, the doting owner woke up and took Calypso out for her morning
walk. Half way through the walk, Calypso 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
cats AND dogs!
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.
